War and No Peace: The Time Rachmaninoff Met Leo Tolstoy and Regretted It

Who would’ve thought Rachmaninoff composed his beloved Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18–the pinnacle of Romantic music–after a years-long case of writer’s block. But that is precisely what happened for a period of three years, suffering depression, likely following the devastating reception of his First Symphony in 1897. 

Rachmaninoff completed his  First Symphony in 1895 not knowing it would be the bane of his existence. The work was performed in 1987 during a significant concert series featuring Russian orchestral works. To the composer’s horror, it seemed to garner a consensus of negative reviews, most notably from the composer César Cui, who compared the experience of listening to it to the biblical plagues of Egypt. 

This wasn’t because the work itself was bad, per se. Sources like music critic Alexander Ossovsky’s memoir opine that the symphony’s performance was to blame, specifically the subpar leadership of its conductor Alexander Glazunov, who made bad use of rehearsal time and–some suspect–was likely inebriated during the work’s performance. 

Regardless of who was to blame, Rachmaninoff fell into depression for a period of three years. During that time, he suffered from writer’s block, mustering the energy only to compose smaller works for piano, voice, and choir. 

A friend, who knew Rachmaninoff was a great admirer of Tolstoy, thought it a good idea to have him meet the War and Peace author. But this would only worsen the composer’s mental state, it seemed. During the meeting, he was asked to play for the writer and an audience. He accompanied a singer on the piano, playing one of his newly written pieces entitled “Fate.” 

A general applause followed before a subsequent silence. Tolstoy, reportedly looking annoyed, said directly to the composer:

“Tell me, is such music needed by anyone? I must tell you how I dislike it all!” 

These words spoken by a man as great as Tolstoy would be enough to discourage even the most confident musician. There was some consolation, as the author followed up, saying that, “Beethoven is nonsense” (you can surmise perhaps his musical taste wasn’t as developed as his literary taste, although he did also hate Shakespeare). Still, the composer likely fell into greater doubt and depression. 

This story does have a happy ending, however. Rachmaninoff’s relatives, seeking to improve the composer’s mental state, introduced him to a neurologist who would have daily therapy sessions with the composer over the course of three months. Soon, as he was composing his Second Piano Concerto, Rachmaninoff himself would declare:

“The material grew in bulk, and new musical ideas began to stir within me — far more than I needed for my concerto.”