122. Rachmaninoff, Sergei. Typed letter signed (“S. Rachmaninoff”), 1 page (10.75 x 7.25 in.; 273 x 184 mm.), New York, 6 March 1930, to Mr. Howard Davis of the Victor Talking Machine Co. on Rachmaninoff’s imprinted stationery. Accompanied by a photograph inscribed and signed (“S. Rachmaninoff”), in Russian , (8.75 x 6.87 in.; 222 x 175 mm.), 1927, being a handsome portrait of Rachmaninoff from the Kubey-Rembrandt studios in Philadelphia; with reinforced margins on the verso.

Rachmaninoff waxes profound on his new “Electrola.”

The composer writes in full: My dear Mr. Davis: I wish to thank you and the Committee for installing in my apartment one of your new Electrola. I find the reproducing part of the instrument excellent. As for the Radio part – I feel from time to time a temptation to switch it on, but as soon as I recollect how we, artists, suffer on account of this invention, I immediately shut it off! By the way, the Radio is not playing very well: too many strange and unpleasant sounds come from the speaker and I would appreciate if one of your engineers looks it over upon my return to the city on March 16th or 17th. Sincerely yours, S. Rachmaninoff

The 1917 Russian Revolution meant the end of Russia as the composer had known it. Rachmaninoff was a member of the Russian bourgeoisie, and the Revolution led to the loss of his estate, his way of life, and his livelihood. On 22 December 1917, he left Petrograd for Helsinki with his wife and two daughters on an open sled, having only a few notebooks with sketches of his own compositions and two orchestral scores. He was 44 years old. He spent a year giving concerts in Scandinavia while laboring to widen his concert repertoire. Near the end of 1918, he received three offers of lucrative American contracts. Although he declined all three, he decided the United States might offer a solution to his financial concerns. He departed Oslo for New York on 1 November 1918. Once there, Rachmaninoff quickly chose an agent, Charles Ellis, and accepted the gift of a piano from Steinway before playing 40 concerts in a four-month period. At the end of the 1919–20 season, he also signed a contract with the Victor Talking Machine Company. In 1921, the Rachmaninoffs bought a house in the United States, where they consciously recreated the atmosphere of Ivanovka, entertaining Russian guests, employing Russian servants, and observing Russian customs.

Victor recorded numerous classical musicians, including Jascha Heifetz, Fritz Kreisler, Victor Herbert, and Sergei Rachmaninoff in a series of recordings at its Camden, New Jersey studios. Rachmaninoff, in particular, became one of the first composer-performers to record extensively; he first made several recordings for Thomas Edison in 1919, and then became an exclusive Victor artist from 1920 to 1942.
$1,500 - $2,500