“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor. He is considered the last romantic among the great Russian composers. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore all his magnificent works today!
Unfortunately, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s childhood cannot be described as a particularly happy one. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family, whose fortunes were soon dashed by his father’s decadent and debauched lifestyle, squandering all their money on mistresses and gambling. After his parents separated, the boy was sent to live with his grandmother, who recognised and nurtured his musical talents. At the age of nine, he joined the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. Despite his brilliant piano technique, and great musical talent, Rachmaninoff did not thrive at school, and was eventually sent off to Moscow, where he studied under the excellent teacher, Nikolai Zverev. It was in Moscow, that Rachmaninoff first began composing.
At the end of the 1890s, the young Rachmaninoff suffered two cruel turns of fate, both his close friend Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his teacher Nikolai Zverev died. His 1st Symphony premiered in 1897, and although it was conducted by Alexander Glazunov, the performance was so lacking, that Rachmaninoff couldn’t bear to listen to any more, got up, and left the auditorium well before the end of the piece. The work was mercilessly slammed by the critics, and Rachmaninoff suffered a nervous breakdown. In the following three years, Rachmaninoff struggled to even pick up his quill.
It was not until after 1901 that Rachmaninoff finally turned back to music. He began to work as a conductor in Moscow, and slowly began to travel and perform again, first through Europe, and then the United States as a pianist and conductor. Soon however, the political situation in Russia became so dire, that in 1917, Rachmaninoff and his entire family bade a sad farewell to their homeland, never to return. They emigrated first to Scandinavia, and then in 1918, to America. He spent the final years of his life in the US and Switzerland, where he found peace in his villa, where he would retire after exhausting concert tours.
Stylistically, Sergei Rachmaninoff belongs to neo-romanticists, although his ideas were very original. His works are richly nationalistic, and encapture the essence of the Russian folk tradition. Rachmaninov was inspired by the typically Russian, expressive, romantic motifs and melodies of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Today, it is still possible to find recordings of Rachmaninoff’s piano playing; one can sit back, and admire his remarkable interpretive and expressive skills, and one can gain an insight into the composer’s inner thoughts, as he masterfully navigates his own magnificent works.
for: Oboe, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302942
for: Treble recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302932
for: Tenor recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302931
for: Trumpet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302918
for: Bass trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302908
for: Bass recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302929
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302917
for: Alto trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302912
for: Violin, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302904
for: Viola, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302902
for: Clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302940
for: Bass recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302928
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302905
for: Tuba (B flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302892
for: Flute, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302945
for: Bassoon, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302937
for: Treble recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302933
for: Tenor saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302923
for: Tenor saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302922
for: Trumpet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302919
for: Horn (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302915
for: Clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302941
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302899
for: Euphonium, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302896
for: Alto saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302924
for: Baritone saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302921
for: Bass trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302909
for: Tuba, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302906
for: Descant (soprano) recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302935
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302893
for: Bassoon, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302936
for: Soprano saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302926
for: Tuba, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302907
for: Cello, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302900
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302943
for: bass clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302938
for: Tenor recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302930
for: Soprano saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302927
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302913
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302895
for: Piccolo, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302946
for: Descant (soprano) recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302934
for: Horn (E-flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302914
for: Trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302910
for: Viola, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302903
for: Alto saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302925
for: Baritone saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302920
for: Euphonium, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302897