Irina Sergievna Rakhmaninov was born on 27 May / 9 June 1903 at the Rachmaninoff family estate, Ivanovka, in the Tambov region of Russia. She was the oldest child of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
She married Prince Peter Volkonsky in Dresden, Germany on 24 September 1924. Her married name became Wolkonsky. Prince Pyotr (Peter) Grigoryevitch Volkonsky was born on 16 January 1897. He was the son of Prince Grigori Volkonsky and Countess Sophia Schouwalow. Peter died on 12 August 1925 at age 28 in Paris, France. Thus, he died before the birth of their one daughter (the grandaughter of the composer), Princess Sofiya (Sophia) Petrovna (Pierre) Wolkonsky, born 4 September 1925. Princess Sophia married twice, to Dallas M. Coors and Allison Temple Wanamaker, Jr.
Following the death of Prince Peter, the composer and his wife sought to support their desperate widowed daughter and new granddaughter by establishing the TAIR Publishing House in Paris. TAIR is an acronym for their daughters' names Tatiana and Irina, who supervised the music publishing. They also sold their US house to raise money and settled at a home they later built in Hertenstein, Switzerland beside Lake Lucerne, which they named Villa SENAR (an acronym for Sergei and Natalya Rachmaninoff).
Irina became a US citizen on 2 June 1947.
Rachmaninoff devoted himself to working on his Opus 23 piano preludes while awaiting the birth of his first child, Irina. On the day she was born, he sat down and wrote his E-flat major prelude, Opus 23 Number 6, "a microcosm of wide-eyed innocence and blissful contentment."
Irina wrote of her father, "As for his emotions and inner feelings, he seldom articulated these in words ... I remember well how he once said to someone in my presence that words are useless for such a purpose ... that all he felt and experienced was told far better, more clearly and truthfully in his compositions, and also found expression in his playing."
She married Prince Peter Volkonsky in Dresden, Germany on 24 September 1924. Her married name became Wolkonsky. Prince Pyotr (Peter) Grigoryevitch Volkonsky was born on 16 January 1897. He was the son of Prince Grigori Volkonsky and Countess Sophia Schouwalow. Peter died on 12 August 1925 at age 28 in Paris, France. Thus, he died before the birth of their one daughter (the grandaughter of the composer), Princess Sofiya (Sophia) Petrovna (Pierre) Wolkonsky, born 4 September 1925. Princess Sophia married twice, to Dallas M. Coors and Allison Temple Wanamaker, Jr.
Following the death of Prince Peter, the composer and his wife sought to support their desperate widowed daughter and new granddaughter by establishing the TAIR Publishing House in Paris. TAIR is an acronym for their daughters' names Tatiana and Irina, who supervised the music publishing. They also sold their US house to raise money and settled at a home they later built in Hertenstein, Switzerland beside Lake Lucerne, which they named Villa SENAR (an acronym for Sergei and Natalya Rachmaninoff).
Irina became a US citizen on 2 June 1947.
Rachmaninoff devoted himself to working on his Opus 23 piano preludes while awaiting the birth of his first child, Irina. On the day she was born, he sat down and wrote his E-flat major prelude, Opus 23 Number 6, "a microcosm of wide-eyed innocence and blissful contentment."
Irina wrote of her father, "As for his emotions and inner feelings, he seldom articulated these in words ... I remember well how he once said to someone in my presence that words are useless for such a purpose ... that all he felt and experienced was told far better, more clearly and truthfully in his compositions, and also found expression in his playing."
Irina Sergievna Rakhmaninov was born on 27 May / 9 June 1903 at the Rachmaninoff family estate, Ivanovka, in the Tambov region of Russia. She was the oldest child of composer Sergei Rachmaninoff.
She married Prince Peter Volkonsky in Dresden, Germany on 24 September 1924. Her married name became Wolkonsky. Prince Pyotr (Peter) Grigoryevitch Volkonsky was born on 16 January 1897. He was the son of Prince Grigori Volkonsky and Countess Sophia Schouwalow. Peter died on 12 August 1925 at age 28 in Paris, France. Thus, he died before the birth of their one daughter (the grandaughter of the composer), Princess Sofiya (Sophia) Petrovna (Pierre) Wolkonsky, born 4 September 1925. Princess Sophia married twice, to Dallas M. Coors and Allison Temple Wanamaker, Jr.
Following the death of Prince Peter, the composer and his wife sought to support their desperate widowed daughter and new granddaughter by establishing the TAIR Publishing House in Paris. TAIR is an acronym for their daughters' names Tatiana and Irina, who supervised the music publishing. They also sold their US house to raise money and settled at a home they later built in Hertenstein, Switzerland beside Lake Lucerne, which they named Villa SENAR (an acronym for Sergei and Natalya Rachmaninoff).
Irina became a US citizen on 2 June 1947.
Rachmaninoff devoted himself to working on his Opus 23 piano preludes while awaiting the birth of his first child, Irina. On the day she was born, he sat down and wrote his E-flat major prelude, Opus 23 Number 6, "a microcosm of wide-eyed innocence and blissful contentment."
Irina wrote of her father, "As for his emotions and inner feelings, he seldom articulated these in words ... I remember well how he once said to someone in my presence that words are useless for such a purpose ... that all he felt and experienced was told far better, more clearly and truthfully in his compositions, and also found expression in his playing."
She married Prince Peter Volkonsky in Dresden, Germany on 24 September 1924. Her married name became Wolkonsky. Prince Pyotr (Peter) Grigoryevitch Volkonsky was born on 16 January 1897. He was the son of Prince Grigori Volkonsky and Countess Sophia Schouwalow. Peter died on 12 August 1925 at age 28 in Paris, France. Thus, he died before the birth of their one daughter (the grandaughter of the composer), Princess Sofiya (Sophia) Petrovna (Pierre) Wolkonsky, born 4 September 1925. Princess Sophia married twice, to Dallas M. Coors and Allison Temple Wanamaker, Jr.
Following the death of Prince Peter, the composer and his wife sought to support their desperate widowed daughter and new granddaughter by establishing the TAIR Publishing House in Paris. TAIR is an acronym for their daughters' names Tatiana and Irina, who supervised the music publishing. They also sold their US house to raise money and settled at a home they later built in Hertenstein, Switzerland beside Lake Lucerne, which they named Villa SENAR (an acronym for Sergei and Natalya Rachmaninoff).
Irina became a US citizen on 2 June 1947.
Rachmaninoff devoted himself to working on his Opus 23 piano preludes while awaiting the birth of his first child, Irina. On the day she was born, he sat down and wrote his E-flat major prelude, Opus 23 Number 6, "a microcosm of wide-eyed innocence and blissful contentment."
Irina wrote of her father, "As for his emotions and inner feelings, he seldom articulated these in words ... I remember well how he once said to someone in my presence that words are useless for such a purpose ... that all he felt and experienced was told far better, more clearly and truthfully in his compositions, and also found expression in his playing."
Inscription
PRINCESSE
IRINA WOLKONSKY
NEE RACHMANINOFF
MAY 27, 1903 - JUNE 20, 1969
Family Members
Parents
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