“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: Mixed choir, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285537
for: Bb Bass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635715
for: Bassoon & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635712
for: Violin, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635708
for: Eb Horn & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635698
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: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 598187
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283958
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283953
for: Voice (soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249504
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601407
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601377
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601371
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601363
for: Piccolo, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302946
for: Descant (soprano) recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302934
for: Horn (E-flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302914
for: Trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302910
for: Viola, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302903
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 202985
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615161
for: Alto Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636586
for: Tuba, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637117
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637116
for: Viola, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637112
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636653
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250876
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250873
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250870
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250858
for: bass clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246277
for: Bass recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246268
for: Tenor saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246262
for: Baritone saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246259
for: Tuba (B flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246231
for: SSAATTBB
Score
Item no.: 621812
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 160807
On a Theme of Paganini
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 963258
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 891762
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 848472
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 628453
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 1114232
for: Fanfare
Score
Item no.: 868984
Symphonic poem for orchestra op. 29
on a painting by Arnold Böcklin
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1009111
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 1077293
op. 10/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723221
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