“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
Score, Parts
Item no.: 655279
for: Alto Saxophone and Piano Accompaniment
Buch
Item no.: 880290
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866720
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866664
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866632
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Score
Item no.: 636337
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 939261
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1203210
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 239585
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 637263
for: Piano
Solostimme
Item no.: 1618979
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1041502
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1038653
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1005033
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: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314888
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601394
for: Baritone saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601383
for: Tenor saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636102
for: Viola & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635707
for: Clarinet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635701
op. 3/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 741235
op. 26/12
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 757197
op. 21/7
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 757196
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723700
for: Bb Bass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636608
for: Bass Trombone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636596
for: Eb Cornet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636592
for: F Horn & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636590
for: Soprano Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636589
for: Trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637119
for: Piccolo, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637115
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637113
for: Piano
Piano Duet
Item no.: 1612753
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612605
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612603
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612538
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615179
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615178
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615173
for: Voice (baritone), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249500
for: Clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246279
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