ABSTRACT
After the excitement of graduation from the conservatoire, the joy of reconciliation with Zverev, the satisfaction of fame and his good fortune in already having the support of a generous publisher, Rachmaninoff found the reality of everyday life as a 'Free Artist' a considerable anti-climax. His new-found celebrity brought him an invitation to spend the summer of 1892 on the estate of a wealthy landowner, Ivan Konovalov, in the Kostroma district, 200 miles north-east of Moscow, giving his young son a daily piano lesson. Despite the family's boundless kindness and the relief afforded by a brief visit from his mother, Rachmaninoff was bored and listless and, at least for the first two months, unable to get down to any new work. He did, however, correct the proofs of Aleko and of two salon miniatures for cello and piano, Op. 2, which were part of the publishing deal struck with Gutheil in May.
