The role of A.I. Ziloti in the formation of the creative personality of S.V. Rachmaninoff-pianist

The article distinguishes and describes important moments of S.V. Rachmaninoff’s creative biography. It is emphasized that the key role in the process of his personal and professional development as a musician and composer was played by his cousin A.I. Ziloti - pianist, musical and public figure, organizer of the legendary entreprise “A. Ziloti’s Concerts”, comparable in its national significance to European events of the XIX - early XX centuries, focused on contemporary music and premieres of works by the latest schools of composers. The motives behind A. Ziloti’s actions are analyzed, as well as his role in the culture of St. Petersburg-Petrograd in the early XX century. A brief overview of the entreprise’s concert programs is given. It is stated that Sergei Rachmaninoff’s works - “Second Piano Concerto” and “Second Suite for Two Pianos” - were announced in the program of each concert season. Conclusion dwells upon the fact that A. Ziloti and S. Rachmaninoff's names are iconic in the history of musical art, mutually inseparable, as are the destinies of their bearers.