“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: Clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302940
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302905
for: Tuba (B flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302892
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308178
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308170
for: Solo o.kleine Gruppe, Chor, Klavier [Cello]
Score
Item no.: 1338084
Score
Item no.: 638278
Arrangement for tow pianos, four hands by the composer
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 892982
Geistliche Musik
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 929367
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 891430
Simply Classics
for: Piano
Item no.: 169595
for: Piano
Item no.: 192397
Hawkes Pocket Scores
for: Orchestra and Piano
Study score
Item no.: 621808
Harmonia-Womens Choir
for: Women's choir (SA), piano
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 366574
Nr. 5 O du wogendes Feld
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 912030
for: Piano
Item no.: 461713
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 197740
für Klavier und Orchester
Studienpartitur
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 18
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 198745
für Violoncello und Klavier
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 674013
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792070
theme from first movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792094
for: Piccolo, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636112
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615163
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615166
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601368
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601390
op. 3/4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723222
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792074
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615169
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano [organ]
Piano score, solo part, playback-CD
Item no.: 1636096
for: Brass ensemble (13 parts), timpani, latin percussion
Score, Parts
Item no.: 996792
op. 3/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747472
De Haske Pop Collection
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 882621
Schott Piano Collection
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 736596
theme from first movement
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792107
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615177
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1591217
Piano Solo
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 899100
für Orchester
Studienpartitur
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1344167
Music for String Orchestra
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1534107
Hymnen und Choräle
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1004931
for: Male choir (TTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 909089
for: Alto solo and SATB divisi Mixed
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1041725
op. 21/5
for: Women's choir (SSA), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 885897
op.34/14
for: Posaune und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199736
for: Klarinettenensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 994385
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637104
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