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Composer's Love Letters
- By Unknown
- Dec. 03 1996 00:00
LONDON () -- Intimate love letters from Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninov to a young woman journalist are expected to sell for more than ?17,000 ($29,000) when they are put up for auction, London firm Sotheby's said Monday.
The letters to Marietta Shaginyan, a journalist who later published a poetry anthology, date from 1912 to 1917. They reveal a tender side to Rachmaninov, composer of supremely romantic music but personally an aloof figure.
"Rachmaninov wrote very few letters -- they are very rare," said Simon Maguire, an expert on musical manuscripts at auctioneers Sotheby's.
"The letters are remarkable because they tell you a great deal about his lack of self-confidence," he said.
The letters to Marietta Shaginyan, a journalist who later published a poetry anthology, date from 1912 to 1917. They reveal a tender side to Rachmaninov, composer of supremely romantic music but personally an aloof figure.
"Rachmaninov wrote very few letters -- they are very rare," said Simon Maguire, an expert on musical manuscripts at auctioneers Sotheby's.
"The letters are remarkable because they tell you a great deal about his lack of self-confidence," he said.
