It is unclear on which of the two family estates Rachmaninoff was born; either Oneg, near Veliky Novgorod, or Semyonovo, near Staraya Russa. His birth was registered in a church in the latter district, but he was raised in Oneg until aged nine and he himself cited it as his birthplace in his adult life. Rachmaninoff began piano and music lessons organised by his mother at age four. She noticed his ability to reproduce passages from memory without a wrong note. Upon hearing news of the boy's gift, Arkady suggested she hire Anna Ornatskaya, a teacher and recent graduate of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, to live with the family and begin formal teaching. Rachmaninoff dedicated his piano composition "Spring Waters" from 12 Romances, Op. 14 to Ornatskaya.