The grave of Sergei Rachmaninov will remain in America

NEW YORK. The descendants of the great composer categorically refused the proposal to transfer his ashes to Russia.

The unexpected initiative of Vladimir Medinsky regarding the return of the remains of Rachmaninoff to his homeland did not find understanding among his relatives. At the end of August, a confident point was put in this story. Susan-Sofia Rachmaninova-Volkonskaya-Wonameaker - the great-great-granddaughter of the composer, commenting on what happened, recalled his will. It clearly indicates a desire to be buried next to members of her family. And so it happened. Sergei Vasilievich, his wife and daughter found eternal peace in the Kensiko cemetery near New York at the site he chose. Information about the unsatisfactory care of the grave and even its abandonment is not confirmed. Kensiko is regularly visited by members of the Rachmaninoff family and fans of his music.

Rachmaninoff rejected the possibility of returning to post-revolutionary Russia despite his homesickness, financial assistance to compatriots during the war years, exhausting the rhythm of life in a foreign land. The call for a boycott of his works and a ban on their performance ”only confirmed the incompatibility of a sincere and talented person with the principles preached by the new government. The composer was not forgiven for an open letter in the New York Times with a story about the true face of the Soviet regime, the unsightly truth of collectivization, hunger and repression.

In such a situation, the ethical idea of transferring the remains of the composer and talking about the privatization of his name is doubtful. Saving memory does not need extreme actions. Respect for Rakhmaninov’s last will, popularization of his work, revival of the International Competition of his name correspond to this to a much greater extent.

Elena Tanakova © Gallerix.ru