At the end of my USC PhD open day visit, I went to Frank Lévy’s concert “An Hour With Rachmaninoff” at Dinkelspiel Auditorium, Stanford. Professor Lévy commented on Rachmaninoff’s nostalgia.
Rachmaninoff’s deep nostalgia was largely due to his forced exile from Russia after the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. Before the revolution, Rachmaninoff was already a major composer, pianist, and conductor in Russia. He had a beautiful estate called Ivanovka, where he composed much of his early music, surrounded by the rolling Russian countryside that he loved.
In December 1917, he fled with his family—first to Sweden, then Denmark, and eventually to the States in 1918. He never returned to Russia. After moving to the U.S., Rachmaninoff was mostly forced to work as a concert pianist to support his family. He barely had time to compose, saying “I have made nothing new. All my days are spent in railway trains, at hotels, and in concert halls…”
So he wasn’t just homesick in an abstract way—he literally lost his homeland, his identity, and a huge part of his soul when he had to leave Russia forever. The nostalgia grows with time. The famous 18th variation from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (1934) is the most nostalgic melodies ever written.
One of the most heartbreaking things he said shortly before his death in 1943 was
“I am a ghost wandering in a world that is no longer mine.”
That’s why his music feels so vulnerable and real—it’s the voice of someone who lost everything except his ability to express that loss through music.
The performance was very very successful—all seats are taken, with people standing on the back. The audience can’t help but to applaud between movements. Lévy got more flowers than a ballerina really…