Sergei Rachmaninoff - Cultural References

Cultural References

Rachmaninoff's music is often used in cinema, especially themes from his second and third piano concertos, and the eighteenth variation of the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

• The soundtrack of the 1945 film Brief Encounter prominently features the second piano concerto, as interpreted by Eileen Joyce.
• In the 1955 comedy The Seven Year Itch, the protagonist (played by Tom Ewell) fantasizes about seducing Marilyn Monroe's character by playing the second piano concerto.
• The 1953 film The Story of Three Loves, directed by Vincente Minnelli, features the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini; the same piece is featured extensively in the 1980 drama Somewhere In Time and the 1993 comedy Groundhog Day.
• In the 1996 film Shine, based on a true story, the pianist David Helfgott is obsessed with Rachmaninoff. Helfgott, played by Geoffrey Rush, enters a piano competition, choosing to play the third piano concerto despite the warnings of a teacher that the piece may be too demanding; Helfgott completes the piece only to suffer a nervous breakdown.
• In the 2006 movie The Devil Wears Prada, the twin daughters of Meryl Streep's character play Rachmaninoff at a recital that she is forced to miss due to inclement weather.
• The protagonist of the 2011 film Limitless is shown playing an excerpt from the Prelude in C-sharp minor.

In addition, Rachmaninoff's melodies have often been referenced by composers of American popular music.

• The song "I Think of You" from Frank Sinatra's album "Where Are You?" (1957) is based on the second theme in E-flat major from the first movement of Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2.
• Eric Carmen's first two solo singles, "All by Myself" and "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", were based on melodies from Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 and Symphony No. 2, respectively.
• The influence of Rachmaninoff's work (specifically his second and third piano concerti) can be heard in the songs "Space Dementia", "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes" by Muse. Matthew Bellamy of Muse has cited Rachmaninoff as a source of inspiration, along with two other composer-pianists, Liszt and Chopin.

Other references to Rachmaninoff in popular culture include the following:

• In 2010, a newly discovered 290-kilometer-wide impact basin on Mercury was named Rachmaninoff by NASA.
• In the 2010 film Iron Man 2, Sam Rockwell's character, a weapons manufacturer, refers to his most sophisticated missile as his "Rachmaninoff's Third."