Editing Sergei Rachmaninoff (section)

=== 1894–1900: Symphony No. 1, depression, and conducting debut ===
Rachmaninoff entered a decline following Tchaikovsky's death. He lacked the inspiration to compose, and the management of the Grand Theatre had lost interest in showcasing ''Aleko'' and dropped it from the program.{{sfn|Lyle|1939|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninoffbiog00lyle/page/92/mode/2up 92]}} To earn more money, Rachmaninoff returned to giving piano lessons—which he hated{{sfn|Lyle|1939|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninoffbiog00lyle/page/93/mode/2up 93]}}—and in late 1895, agreed to a three-month tour across Russia with a program shared by Italian violinist [[Teresina Tua]]. The tour was not enjoyable for the composer and he quit before it ended, thus sacrificing his performance fees. In a more desperate plea for money, Rachmaninoff pawned his gold watch given to him by Zverev.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/66/mode/2up 67]}} In September 1895, before the tour started, Rachmaninoff completed his [[Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)|Symphony No. 1]] (Op.&nbsp;13), a work conceived in January and based on chants he had heard in Russian Orthodox church services.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/66/mode/2up 67]}} Rachmaninoff had worked so hard on it that he could not return to composition until he heard the piece performed.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/69/mode/2up 69]}} This lasted until October 1896, when "a rather large sum of money" that did not belong to Rachmaninoff and was in his possession, was stolen during a train journey and he had to work to recoup the losses. Among the pieces composed were ''Six Choruses'' (Op. 15) and ''[[Six moments musicaux (Rachmaninoff)|Six moments musicaux]]'' (Op. 16), his final completed composition for several months.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/70/mode/2up 70]}}

[[File:Rachmaninoff and Skalon sisters crop.jpg|thumb|Rachmaninoff in 1897, the year his [[Symphony No. 1 (Rachmaninoff)|Symphony No. 1]] premiered]]

Rachmaninoff's fortunes took a turn following the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 on 28 March 1897 in one of a long-running series of [[Russian Symphony Concerts]] devoted to Russian music. The piece was brutally panned by critic and nationalist composer [[César Cui]], who likened it to a depiction of the [[Plagues of Egypt|seven plagues of Egypt]], suggesting it would be admired by the "inmates" of a music conservatory in Hell.{{sfn|Scott|2011|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninoff0000scot/page/48/mode/2up 48]}} The deficiencies of the performance, conducted by [[Alexander Glazunov]], were not commented on by other critics,{{sfn|Norris|2001b|p=[https://archive.org/details/newgrovedictiona0020unse/page/709/mode/2up 709]}} but according to a memoir from [[Alexander Ossovsky]], a close friend of Rachmaninoff, Glazunov made poor use of rehearsal time, and the concert's program itself, which contained two other premières, was also a factor. Other witnesses, including Rachmaninoff's wife, suggested that Glazunov, an alcoholic, may have been drunk.{{sfn|Harrison|2006|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninofflife0000harr/page/77/mode/2up 77]}}{{sfn|Norris|2001a|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninoff00norr/page/23/mode/2up 23]}}{{sfn|Piggott|1974|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninovorche0000pigg/page/24/mode/2up 24]}} Following the reaction to his first symphony, Rachmaninoff wrote in May 1897 that "I'm not at all affected" by its lack of success or critical reaction, but felt "deeply distressed and heavily depressed by the fact that my Symphony ... did not please ''me'' at all after its first rehearsal".{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/73/mode/2up 73]}} He thought its performance was poor, particularly Glazunov's contribution.{{sfn|Norris|2001a|p=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninoff00norr/page/23/mode/2up 23]}} The piece was not performed for the rest of Rachmaninoff's life, but he revised it into a four-hand piano arrangement in 1898.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/74/mode/2up 74]}}

Rachmaninoff fell into a depression that lasted for three years, during which he had [[writer's block]] and composed almost nothing. He described this time as "Like the man who had suffered a stroke and for a long time had lost the use of his head and hands".{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/74/mode/2up 74]}} He made a living by giving piano lessons.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/76/mode/2up 76]}} A stroke of good fortune came from [[Savva Mamontov]], a Russian industrialist and founder of the [[Moscow Private Russian Opera]], who offered Rachmaninoff the post of assistant conductor for the 1897–98 season. The cash-strapped composer accepted, conducting ''[[Samson and Delilah (opera)|Samson and Delilah]]'' by [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] as his first opera on 12 October 1897.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/77/mode/2up 77]}} By the end of February 1899, Rachmaninoff attempted composition and completed two short piano pieces, ''Morceau de Fantaisie'' and Fughetta in F major. Two months later, he travelled to London for the first time to perform and conduct, earning positive reviews.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/84/mode/2up 84], [https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/87/mode/2up 87]}} In late 1899, however, his depression worsened following an unproductive summer; he composed one song, "Fate", which later became one of his Twelve Songs (Op. 21), and left compositions for a proposed return visit to London unfulfilled.{{sfn|Bertensson|Leyda|1956|p=[https://archive.org/details/sergeirachmanino0000bert/page/88/mode/2up 88]}} In an attempt to revive his desire to compose, his aunt arranged for the writer [[Leo Tolstoy]], whom Rachmaninoff greatly admired, to have the composer visit his home and receive words of encouragement. The visit was unsuccessful, doing nothing to help him compose with the fluency he had before.{{sfn|Harrison|2006|pp=[https://archive.org/details/rachmaninofflife0000harr/page/88/mode/2up 88–89]}}{{sfn|Riesemann|1934|p=[https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.179919/page/n129/mode/2up? 111]}}