Re: Smoking Pianists, Smoking Listeners

On Dec 24, 3:48�pm, francis <sowerby...@xxxxxxx> wrote:
On Dec 24, 3:34 pm, Dontaitchic...@xxxxxxx wrote:





On Dec 23, 8:05 pm, francis <sowerby...@xxxxxxx> wrote:

The cover of Michael Scott's new biography of Rachmaninoff has as its
cover photo a view of the composer in 2/3 profile at the keyboard,
lighted cigarette in holder between his lips. This is one of two SR
smoking at the piano photos I've seen--though I have probably several
dozen of him smoking in other contexts. The subject copy on the jacket
includes "...and his death in Beverly Hills during the Second World
War, worn out by his punishing schedule." Well, three packs a day for
(at least) fifty of his seventy years might have been a contributing
factor.

snip<

Didn't Rachmaninoff die of melanoma?

Don Tait

That's what his death certificate reads, Don �But that wasn't
diagnosed until three weeks before his death, when he was taken to the
hospital directly from the agonizing 60-hr train journey from New
Orleans and could actually access the then state-of-the-art medical
knowledge. Until that hospital admission, he would only allow Russian
GPs to examine him. � The still best biography of SR--the one by
Sergei Berttenssohn and Jay Leyda originally published in 1953, states
that the hospital had diagnosed very apparent melanoma, but cancer had
spread to virtually every part of Rachmaninoff's body--so I'm dubious
that melanoma was the only cause, or even the principal cause. But the
point at the time was it was too late for any treatment, so he was
sent home to die. �I have an interesting reminiscence by concertmaster
of the Chicago Symphony from SR's last appearance there two months
before--a private conversation he had with SR at the afternoon dress
rehearsal--during which SR complained of a sharp, persistent pain in
his back, which only left him (or could be overlooked?) while he was
playing. � The wonder is that, within five weeks of his death, he
played both the Beethoven C Major and his own Paganini Rhapsody, by
all accounts--including Ms. Cassidy's--at the absolute height of his
powers. FC

Thanks. I am not a doctor, but I must say that what you describe
about Rachmaninoff sounds like cancer that had metastasized through
his body. And from what I have been told or have read by doctors,
melanoma is particularly deadly in that regard. A terrible, dangerous
cancer. Your message implies that you think that something beyond
cancer throughout his body might have caused Rachmaninoff's death.
What do you think it was?

Low back pain in cancer might be a common symptom, at least for some
forms of it. Both my nephew, who died young (and never smoked) and Leo
Goldstein (who died in his 70s and did) complained of low back pain
when their lung cancer was developing. But again, I emphasize that I'm
no physician.

Don Tait

.

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