Sergei Rachmaninoff
April 1, 1873 – March 28, 1943

Sergei Rachmaninoff was born into a family steeped in Russian military tradition. Initially Rachmaninoff was expected would follow in his father’s aristocratic footsteps and enroll in the army. However, his father’s fortune collapsed and he fled, leaving the family impoverished, and setting the stage for Rachmaninoff to purse a vocation in music.

Rachmaninoff was taught piano by his mother, and later studied in St. Petersburg’s conservatory. His talent did not go unnoticed, and it was arranged for Rachmaninoff to attend The Moscow Conservatory. He focused on piano and composition, graduating at 19 and lauded for his opera, Aleko. Encouraged by this, he released his first symphony, which was a disaster. The experience ended Rachmaninoff’s attempts for years, and he worked as a conductor instead.

Thankfully, Rachmaninoff resumed writing and produced his Piano Concerto #2, which became a sensation. He left Russia during the revolution, and worked and composed abroad, creating his most famous works then. He toured Europe, the US, before leaving Russia for good. His composing diminished as he moved to the US, where he died in 1943.

Rachmaninoff is known for his virtuosity at the piano, and in involving that instruments voice prominently amongst broader instrumentation. He was admired for his melodic skill.

Notable works:
Aleko
Prelude in c sharp minor
Piano concerto #2

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Playing the piano is Vadim Chaimovich's first and foremost passion and his heart belongs to classical music, from Baroque to Modernism. In the meantime, his performances have been viewed over five million times on YouTube and gained him a large international fan base. Newspaper critics are unanimous in their praise of his interpretations deeming them as "sensitive and expressive", "intelligent and powerful". Meanwhile film and TV placements of Vadim's recordings include such shorts as "Waiting for a Stranger" (2011) and "Killing Time" (2015), a TV Series "#LoveMonkeyChocolateFlowers" (2014 –) and a 2014 drama "Female Pervert" by Jiyoung Lee as well as the Annecy International Animated Film Festival award winning cartoon " Sidewalk Scribble" by Peter Lowey.

Vadim Chaimovich was born in Vilnius, Lithuania, and gave his debut performance with an orchestra aged seven. He is a graduate with honors from two conservatoires of music and received prizes at many international piano competitions, including the Schubert Competition in Dortmund (Germany) and the William Kapell International Piano Competition in Maryland (USA). In 2003, Vadim Chaimovich’s outstanding artistry was distinguished with the Promotion Prize of the Dresden Art and Culture Foundation. He is also the winner of the 2009 10th International Web Concert Hall Competition (USA). As the First Prize winner of the 2009 Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition (New York) he gave his debut performance in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall.

Vadim has given numerous concerts across Europe, in Japan and the USA, among others at the Vienna Musikverein and the Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall New York as well as at such renowned international music festivals as the Dresden Music Festival and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival. He collaborated with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, the Dortmund Philharmonic Orchestra, the North Hungarian Symphony Orchestra etc. His third live CD "Kontraste" appeared in 2013 and received two prestigious Global Music Awards.

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