Marfan syndrome

[Lea]

I was actually kind of surprised that no one had mentioned this yet! Have you all heard of all the speculation that SVR had Marfan syndrome? I don't think there's enough evidence to prove it... what do you think?

[Zane]

Interesting idea, Lea, and this is the first speculation I've heard that Rachmaninoff could have had Marfan syndrome. There are many Internet sources on Marfan's, and I think Wikipedia's is good enough for our review purposes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marfan_syndrome.

HERE ARE A FEW SALIENT SUMMARY POINTS FROM WIKIPEDIA:

1. [Marfan] "is carried by a gene called FBN1...Because it is dominant, people who have inherited one affected FBN1 gene from either parent will have Marfan's."

2. "Most of the readily visible signs are associated with the skeletal system. Many individuals with Marfan syndrome grow to above average height. Some have long slender limbs with long fingers and toes (arachnodactyly). This condition of elongated limbs is known as dolichostenomelia. An individual's arms may be disproportionately long, with thin, weak wrists."

3. "Marfan syndrome can also seriously affect the eyes and vision. Nearsightedness and astigmatism are common, but farsightedness can also result. Subluxation (dislocation) of the crystalline lens in one or both eyes (ectopia lentis) (in 80% of patients) also occurs..."


RACHMANINOFF'S BODY VERSUS THE ABOVE SYMPTOMS

1. With Marfan's being passed on genetically and dominantly from either parent, the first ones to investigate are Lyoubov and Vasili Rachmaninoff.

(a) Rachmaninoff's father was tall, but not extremely, and did wear glasses. There are no reports of Rachmaninoff's father suffering "Subluxation (dislocation) of the crystalline lens in one or both eyes (ectopia lentis) (in 80% of patients) also occurs..." And SVR's mother was not extremely tall, with available photos showing her not wearing spectacles.

(b) The 10 November 1918 Ellis Island, NY records of SVR and family's immigration list SVR's children's height: "Irene" (5'-8" at age 15), and Tatiana (4'-10" at age 11). And the 30 October 1924 Ellis immigration records show Tatiana's height at 5'-4" at age 17 ("Irene" or Irina is not listed on that arrival). Marfan's dominant-gene genetics, from a single parent, suggest both of SVR's children would be very tall. And photos of SVR's daughters Irina and Tatiana do not show them wearing glasses.

2. (a) SVR's immigration files (from repeated entries into the United States at Ellis Island) list his height as 6'-1", although Eugene Ormandy recalled SVR's height "was about six feet, three" [in a conversation with Ed Cunningham, in Philadelphia; radio station KUSC, of the USA's National Public Radio (NPR), broadcast excerpts of this conversation in 1979].

(b) On the same 10 November 1918 Ellis Island NY ship manifests as SVR's, another man's height was shown as 6-6 1/2"; so there appears no reason to suspect extreme understatements of a person's height by Ellis Island immigration.

(c) Photographs of SVR's hands do not show "long (slender) fingers" and "thin, weak wrists." Instead, SVR had BIG hands with husky fingers and huge strong wrists. As Adolph Altman (who photographed SVR for ASCAP in 1938) told me on 6 August 1987, "[Rachmaninoff's] fingers looked almost like those of a butcher...not beautiful [and slender] like those of Frank Black."

3. Photographs of SVR show him wearing glasses only while reading later in life, and never otherwise or while giving concerts. Reading glasses suggest typical farsightedness upon advancing age, rather than Marfan (where Rachmaninoff most likely would have been nearsighted, and less likely farsighted, at an early age).

(a) Photo of SVR as a young man proofing a score (no reading glasses):
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Rachmaninoff_proofing.jpg

(b) SVR in later years at his desk. Note partial view of glasses on the left:
https://www.schubertiademusic.com/img/catalog-11/RachmaninoffSP017.jpg

(c) Never did Rachmaninoff experience: "Subluxation (dislocation) of the crystalline lens in one or both eyes (ectopia lentis) (in 80% of patients) also occurs..."

So evidence does not appear to support any Marfan syndrome or physical deformity or anomaly.

Zane

[Lea]

Zane, that is very interesting and I think you are right. I just don't understand why people insist on trying to diagnose him with such things (this isn't even the only one!), especially with such insufficient evidence to support it.

But I'm so glad to see that some people are making sense in this world

[StewH]

Zane,

That's certainly as thorough an analysis as one could hope for these many years later. This should put this particular rumor to rest, one would hope!