“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: Piano
Piano score, online audio (playback)
Item no.: 135677
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 636617
Transcriptions by Zoltán Kocsis
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197635
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 244318
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 942286
op. 3, no. 2
for: Piano
Item no.: 617084
for two pianos and four hands
Two copies required for performance!
for: 2 pianos
Score
Item no.: 684353
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 630350
op. 3/4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 749037
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 197742
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Book
Item no.: 886415
op. 34, no. 14
for: Voice (high), piano
Item no.: 621039
Klassik
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1591211
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction (2 piano's)
Item no.: 903341
Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 1610, 2 Pianos, 4 Hands
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 137627
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 338435
Edited from the sources
Wiener Urtext Edition
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 663395
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 617083
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197489
for mixed choir a capella
piano accompaniment for purpose of rehearsal
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 683747
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 244345
from the Album "In Winter" (Katie Melua with the Gori Women's Choir)
for: Soloist (alto), mixed choir (SATB), guitar
Choir score
Item no.: 671434
весенние воды op. 14, No. 11
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Score
Item no.: 879786
Masterpieces for Solo Piano
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1198848
A
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1029279
Bearbeitung für Gesang und Orchester
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 1524
for: Voice, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 634148
This editionis a reprint from the original publication
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 198558
Novello Short Biographies
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 896610
First Movement
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 888099
Op. 35
for: 3 soloists (STBar), mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 635446
This editionis a reprint from the original publication
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 198559
First Movement
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 873139
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612328
for flute and piano
Mitropa Instrumental Series
for: Flute, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 634029
Great Classics
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 873553
Great Classics
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 884305
from Piano Concerto No. 2
for: 2 soloists (SA), mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 862211
"How fair this spot!"
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Music score
Item no.: 462507
from the Album "In Winter" (Katie Melua with the Gori Women's Choir)
for: Soloist (alto), mixed choir (SATB), guitar
Choir score
Item no.: 1667410
Creative Concepts Publishing
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 446979
Konzertwerk
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 947362
op. 23/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732369
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637111
Simrock Original Edition
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1341036
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601373
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792103
De Haske Pop Collection
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 887728
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636100
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