RACHMANINOFF SOCIETY NEWS AND EVENTS
Upcoming events
No event planned at present.
News - plans for a Rachmaninov Museum in Moscow
People who attended the Rachmaninoff Society's 2009 Conference in Manchester had the pleasure to meet Tamara Parshina, Vice-president and Chairwoman of the Rachmaninov Society of Russia (the spelling preferred by that Society - Ed) and founder of the Vista Vera CD label. Tamara explained what the Russian Society has been doing and told us about their plans for a Rachmaninov Museum in Moscow.
Society Member Wouter de Voogd met Tamara again in Moscow in the summer of 2010, alongside Mr. Sokolov, Rector of the Moscow Conservatory. The first plans for the Museum were made by Yuri Rachmaninoff, great-great nephew of Sergei Rachmaninoff. Due to his work and accomplishments in Moscow, Yuri Rachmaninoff was able to secure the site, an 18th century mansion. It is situated at walking distance from the Kremlin and Red Square and so is ideally suited for a Museum, in central Moscow on a piece of prime real estate in one of the most expensive cities in the world.
The Rachmaninov Society of Russia (President Valeri Polyansky) is now carefully restoring this old building to its former glory. This project is not only a very expensive affair as you can imagine, but also a very difficult one as funding is almost absent in today's Russia. The Society is also in possession of one of SVR’s grand pianos and has access to many interesting artefacts.
After discussing all of this at its AGM in Leicester in September 2010, the Rachmaninoff Society decided to endorse the Rachmaninov Society of Russia in their endeavour to set up the Rachmaninov Museum in Moscow. We hope our members will also show their support and enthusiasm for the project. Further cooperation between the two Societies is in the making; the Rachmaninov Society of Russia and the Moscow Conservatory will help us to obtain scans from rare programs to be used in our online performance diary project. Wouter de Voogd was interviewed by Radio Russia about this cooperation and his visit to the Rachmaninoff Museum. He left Moscow with wonderful memories and many new acquaintances. Developments were also mentioned in Autumn 2010 on the RT website.
Past events
2010
Our 2010 Members' Weekend took place at Beaumont Hall on 10-12 September. Beamont Hall is set in Leicester University's Botanic Gardens in leafy Oadby. The weekend started on Friday 10th with registartion, dinner and the Society's Annual General Meeting. The notice and agenda for the AGM can be found on the Members-only section of this site.
The Weekend included, among other activities, a talk entitled 'Rachmaninoff’s near contemporaries – an exploration of music on CD by Russian composers of Rachmaninoff’s time' - a discussion about the available literature on Rachmaninoff (during which some of our members drew our attention to the wealth of Russian-language sources), and the perennial favourite: the fierce and fun music quiz. The traditional auction of CDs and sheet music raised £374 for the Society's funds, and we are very grateful to both donors and buyers!
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On Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th we were joined by two very promising piano students. 20-year old Ji Liu (pictured, right) plaid a varied programme of Scarlatti, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Liszt. A fuller report of the Weekend will be published on this site soon. |
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A full account of our most recent study afternoon, organised with the Friends of the Philharmonia Orchestra, will be posted on this site soon. We are very grateful to the Friends of the Philharmonia for all their help in organising the event, which was attended by nearly 100 people, in a beautiful room overlooking London's sights at the Royal Festival Hall. We were delighted to hear the fabulous pianist Nikolai Lugansky in conversation with writer and broadcaster (and Society member!) David Nice. The focus of the event was the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. |
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2009
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Chetham's School of Music hosted the Society's 2009 International Conference, on 25-27 September. It focused on Rachmaninoff's Transcriptions.
Click here for a full account of the Conference, complete with pictures and videos. It now includes a 'taster' from the Masterclass given by François-Joël Thiollier! You can also check out what one of our lecturers, BBC broadcaster David Nice, thought in his blog.
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2008
In November 2008 the Rachmaninoff Society and the Friends of the Philharmonia Orchestra jointly organised a study afternoon focusing on Piano Concerto No.3. This event, held at the Royal Festival Hall in London, UK, featured pianist Simon Trpceski. Read more...
Read an entertaining account of our Members' Weekend and Annual General Meeting in Pendrell Hall near Wolverhampton (UK) in September 2008.
2007
Find out about our Conference in New York City, which featured our Founding President Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Read about our “Rachmaninoff Recreated” April 2007 Retreat in New York.
Updated 29 July 2011