“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: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314888
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 661434
für Klavier
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 637263
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1203210
for: FL (OB) KLAV (+ VC)
Item no.: 428582
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239585
Klassik
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283965
Klassik
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283963
Klassik
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283955
for: Viola & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635707
for: Clarinet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635701
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307516
for: Piccolo, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302947
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302939
for: Horn (F), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302916
for: Trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302911
for: Double bass, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302898
for: Tuba (E-flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302894
for: Piano, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1202284
Movement 3: Allegro Assai op. 45
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 655279
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1038653
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1211442
for: Piano
Item no.: 577175
Nr. 4 O schönes Mädchen
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 910147
für Chor a cappella mit singbarem deutschem Text
Musik aus Russland
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 636337
from Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 939261
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 849175
Gekürzte und erleichterte Ausgabe
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 197553
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 160806
Clarinet in A
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 166402
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Item no.: 356201
for piano duet (one piano, four hands)
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 161324
Autorisierte Erstausgabe
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 207297
One-act Opera in Three Scenes op. 24
with Russian, German and English libretto
Reprint
Opera Explorer
for: Voices, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1344378
Geistliche Musik
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1092447
from "Vespers" op. 37
Daehn Publications
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1031996
Unfinished
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1349844
For English Horn and Organ
for: Englischhorn und Orgel
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1624487
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1155677
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 1071209
Hawkes Pocket Scores
for: Piano, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 198746
édition bon(n)orgue Vol. 34
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1646966
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1093001
for: Voice (medium)
Book
Item no.: 889465
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 902058
for: 2 Git Vc
Item no.: 636454
2nd Movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 991381
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