Rachmaninov: The Man, The Myth, The Legendary Giant Hands

By Leilani Polk

This week, the Seattle Symphony celebrates 150 years of a composer and piano virtuoso who is considered one of the last great Russian Romantics, who created such technically difficult symphonic works that they are still the standard by which young aspiring piano stars are measured: Sergei Rachmaninov.

Four rising pianists perform all four of Rachmaninov’s piano concertos over two days this week — on Thursday, April 27, Dominic Cheli and Alexander Malofeev start our 150 Years of Rachmaninov celebration with Rachmaninov’s First and Second piano concertos, while on Saturday, April 29, Natasha Paremski and Albert Cano Smit complete the set with Rachmaninov’s Third and Fourth piano concertos. Katharina Wincor conducts both concerts. (Read the program notes for both concerts here.)

In honor of our two-day Rach party and the artist who inspired it, we have put together some fun factoids and pop culture tidbits into the listicle below. 

Rachmaninov, the Billboard charter Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto made an appearance on the Billboard radio song charts more than 70 years after its creation when American soft rock singer-songwriter Eric Carmen based his 1975 power ballad, “All By Myself,” on that Concerto’s second movement (the Adagio sostenuto), and his song almost topped the charts. (It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.)  Not ringing a bell? “All By Myself” was most famously covered by the one and only Celine Dion, making its way to the Top 40 charts again in 1996. Carmen turned back to Rach for inspiration in his lesser-known track, “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again,” based on the third movement (Adagio) from Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony. 

Rach the Muse English rock band Muse also tapped Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto for their 2001 track, “Space Dementia,” although in his nod to the composer, frontman Matthew Bellamy culled parts from the first movement.

Not actually Rachmaninov In Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, the little ditty Willy Wonka plays as the combination on a musical lock to get into the chocolate room was not, in fact, Rachmaninov, as Mrs. Teevee so matter-of-factly states; it is actually a phrase from Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro.

Rachmaninov as the soundtrack to an attempted seduction Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto also pops up in The Seven Year Itch in a scene that finds the character played by Tommy Ewell having a fantasy about seducing a gorgeous blonde model (played by Marilyn Monroe) by performing the opening of its first movement.

Rachmaninov's music featured prominently in an Academy Award-winning film Geoffrey Rush won an Oscar for Best Actor for his performance in the 1996 bio drama, Shine, which is based on the life of Australian pianist David Helfgott; the film deals with the pianist's formative years and the deterioration of his mental state after he performs Rachmaninov’s demanding Third Piano Concerto in a public competition. The Concerto is peppered throughout the film.

Another resting place Rachmaninov is currently buried in a New York state cemetery, but there have been repeated efforts to return his remains to Russia. Though he left the country in 1917 during the Bolshevik Revolution and died in the U.S. shortly after being granted citizenship, his Russian admirers have long clamored for his remains to be returned to his homeland. The last proposal to move him was rejected by his descendants in 2015.

With friends like these ... Igor Stravinsky once described the eminent pianist and composer as “a 6-and-a-half-foot scowl.” Rachmaninov happened to be a big fan of Stravinsky, a fellow Russian ex-patriate who eventually ended up settling in the U.S. According to the story (which went viral and prompted a slew of memes when it became more widely known), Rachmaninov decided he would like to befriend the composer and learning how much Stravinsky liked honey, saw an opportunity to ingratiate himself. Rachmaninov's technique to curry favor could probably have used some work, however: rumor has it, he knocked on Stravinsky’s door in the middle of the night and presented him with a large jar of honey. The two ultimately did become friends, although one wonders if it was before or after Stravinsky made the comment about Rach's bad-tempered expression.

The legendary large hands Rach was known for being one of classical music’s most gifted pianists, ever. Part of his secret (which wasn't really a secret at all) was the fact that he had gigantic hands, making some of his works especially challenging to play for people with normal-sized hands. He could reach the span of a 12th with his left hand; most regular folks can only reach an eighth or ninth. Igudesman & Joo famously parodied this fact in “Rachmaninov Had Big Hands”