Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff’s relationship with jazz was warmer than his reported dislike of swing suggests: he enjoyed Paul Whiteman’s jazz treatment of the C sharp minor Prelude and later confessed himself “enchanted” by Ferde Grofé’s transcription. The piece’s ubiquity still exasperated him, and Russia’s absence from the relevant international copyright agreement meant that he received only the original forty-rouble publishing fee. He also became an admirer of Art Tatum, reportedly judging him the greatest pianist in any style.