Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: the All-Night Vigil, for unaccompanied choir

Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов, Sergej (often known as Rachmaninoff's Vespers);

Vasilevič Rahmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20
March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a
Russian composer, pianist, and conductor, one of
the last great champions of the Romantic style of
European classical music. ("Sergei
Rachmaninoff" was the spelling the composer
himself used while living in the West throughout
the latter half of his life. However,
transliterations of his name include Sergey or
Serge, and Rachmaninov, Rachmaninow,
Rakhmaninov or Rakhmaninoff.)
Rachmaninoff is regarded as one of the most
influential pianists of the 20th century. He had
legendary technical facilities and rhythmic drive,
and his large hands were able to cover the
interval of a thirteenth on the keyboard (a hand
span of approximately twelve inches). According
to fellow composer Igor Stravinsky
Rachmaninoff stood 6 feet 6 inches (198 cm)
tall. [1]. He also had the ability to play complex
compositions upon first hearing. Many
recordings were made by the Victor Talking
Machine Company recording label of
Rachmaninoff performing his own music, as well
as works from the standard repertory.
twenty-four Preludes (including the famous
Prelude in C-sharp minor); the Six Moments
Musicaux; seventeen Études-tableaux; many
songs, of which the most famous are "V
molchanyi nochi taynoi" ("In the silence of
night"), Lilacs, and the wordless Vocalise; and
the last of his works, the Symphonic Dances.
Most of his pieces follow a melancholy, late-
Romantic style akin to Tchaikovsky, although
strong influences of Chopin and Liszt are
apparent. Further inspiration included the music
of Balakirev, Mussorgsky, Medtner (whom he
considered the greatest contemporary composer
and who, according to Schonberg's Lives,
returned the compliment by imitating him) and
Henselt.

His reputation as a composer has generated a

variety of opinions, before his music gained
steady recognition across the world. The 1954
edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and
Musicians notoriously dismissed his music as
"monotonous in texture ... consist[ing] mainly of
artificial and gushing tunes ..." and predicted
that his popular success was "not likely to last"
([1]). To this, Harold C. Schonberg, in his Lives
of the Great Composers, responded, "It is one of
the most outrageously snobbish and even stupid
statements ever to be found in a work that is
supposed to be an objective reference." Indeed,
not only have Rachmaninoff's works become
part of the standard repertoire, but their
popularity among both musicians and audiences
has, if anything, increased during the second half
of the twentieth century, with some of his
symphonies and other orchestral works, songs
and choral music recognized as masterpieces
alongside the more familiar piano works.

His compositions include, among numerous

others: four piano concerti; the Rhapsody on a
Theme of Paganini; three symphonies; two piano
sonatas; three operas; a choral symphony (The
Bells, based on the poem by Edgar Allan Poe);
Joseph-Maurice Ravel (March 7,
1875– December 28, 1937) was a French
composer and pianist of the
impressionistic period, known especially
for the subtlety, richness and poignancy
of his music. His piano, chamber music
and orchestral works have become
staples of the concert repertoire.

Ravel's piano compositions, such as

Jeux d'eau, Miroirs and Gaspard de la
Nuit, demand considerable virtuosity
from the performer, and his orchestral
music, including Daphnis et Chloé and
his arrangement of Modest Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition, uses tonal
color and variety of sound and
instrumentation very effectively.

To the general public, Ravel is probably

best known for his orchestral work,
Boléro, which he considered trivial and
once described as "a piece for orchestra
without music."[1]

According to Sacem, Ravel's estate earns

more royalties than that of any other
French musician.
Stephen Michael Reich (born October
3, 1936) is an American composer. He is
a pioneer of minimalism, although his
music has increasingly deviated from a
purely minimalist style. Reich's
innovations include using tape loops to
create phasing patterns (examples are his
early compositions, It's Gonna Rain and
Come Out), and the use of processes to
create and explore musical concepts (for
instance, Pendulum Music and Four
Organs). These compositions, marked by
their use of repetitive figures and
phasing effects, have significantly
influenced contemporary music,
especially in America.

The Guardian has described Reich as

one of the few composers to have
"altered the direction of musical history."

On 25 January 2007, Steve Reich was

named the 2007 recipient of the
prestigious Polar Music Prize, together
with Sonny Rollins.