Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: Сергей Васильевич Рахманинов), 1 April 1873 - 28 March 1943, was a composer, pianist, and conductor. Alternative transliterations of his name include Sergey, Sergej or Serge, and Rachmaninov, Rakhmaninoff.) Rachmaninoff was born in 1873 in Semyonovo, near Novgorod, in north-western Russia. He was born into a noble russian family, who had been in the service of the Russian tsars since the 16th century. His parents were both amateur pianists.