“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.
Edition Schott Einzelausgabe
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 356199
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Item no.: 356201
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307520
from the Vespers
for: Voice, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1310738
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307525
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307515
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307512
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308178
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308170
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307526
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307524
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308174
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308172
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307519
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307517
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307513
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307518
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307528
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307521
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307511
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308168
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307523
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308176
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308171
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308173
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307527
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307522
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307510
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307514
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308177
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308175
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307516
Score
Item no.: 638278
for: Piano
Item no.: 494405
for: Piano
Item no.: 461713
Saint Cecilia Series
for: Organ
Item no.: 328499
Score
Item no.: 638291
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 849509
Score
Item no.: 638236
for: Electric organ
Item no.: 475029
From Shine
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 944382
for: B INST (KLAR) KLAV
Item no.: 194129
Edited from the sources
Wiener Urtext Edition
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 663395
op. 10/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 756023
Music for String Orchestra
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1534107
Piano Solo
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 316702
Klassik
for: Mezzo-soprano [or Bariton] and Piano
Buch
Item no.: 935076
Vocal Solo
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 318550