“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: Trumpet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246258
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383385
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 893115
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 892566
for: 2 pianos
Ensemble score
Item no.: 403692
Simrock Original Edition
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1341036
for: Opera
Score
Item no.: 277885
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 948085
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 156702
for: Violine und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199738
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 479681
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 864235
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251517
for: Brass ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 973683
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 780519
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 887728
for: Piano
Item no.: 357258
for: Piano
Item no.: 636585
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 245965
9. Blessed art Thou, O most gracious Lord
for: Tenor and SATB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1041755
for: Medium High Voice and Piano
Book
Item no.: 1076919
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1039201
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615171
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1203454
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589496
Bb
for: Clarinet
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612602
for: Bass Clarinet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635702
Critical Edition of the Complete Works
Rachmaninoff Critical Edition of the Complete Works Volume 17
for: Piano
Score (with critical report)
Item no.: 684139
Vol. 3
Russian Piano Classics (Authentic Edition)
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 167546
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314634
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601387
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601385
for: Trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636116
for: Bass trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636097
for: Tenor saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637106
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635760
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
Klassik
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283969
for: Piano Duets & Four Hands
Item no.: 1522305
Original für Klavier
for: 4 bassoons
Score, Parts
Item no.: 644401
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1591218
Symphonic poem for orchestra op. 29
on a painting by Arnold Böcklin
for: Symphonic orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1009112