One of the greatest pianists in history, Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873-1943) continued the line of great Russian Romantic music championed by the likes of Tchaikovsky and Rimsky-Korsakov. As he claimed, "I am a Russian composer and the land of my birth has influenced my temperament and outlook. My music is the product of my temperament, and so it is Russian music."  Although the solo piano music and the piano concertos form the backbone of his work, Rachmaninoff also created lush, rich Romantic symphonies, tone poems, choral music and operas. Several of his melodies have been borrowed for use as tunes in the popular music field. Like Pushkin or Tolstoy in Russian literature, Rachmaninoff captured the true Russian heart and soul in music.