“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: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1091089
from "Vespers" op. 37
Daehn Publications
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1031996
Theme from second movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791820
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1155677
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1646966
for: Englischhorn und Orgel
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1624487
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1349844
for: Piano, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 198746
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 902058
for: Voice (medium)
Book
Item no.: 889465
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 485202
for: Viola, piano
Book
Item no.: 141794
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 991381
for: Symphonic orchestra
Double bass (orchestral part)
Item no.: 430015
for: Symphonic orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 430095
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 430040
for: Symphonic orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 429889
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Score
Item no.: 477420
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 629846
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 228902
for: Youth concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 696190
for: Unison Treble Voices and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 326082
Trascrizioni e arrangiamenti per orchestre delle scuole medie a indirizzo musicale, licei musicali, scuole di musica
for: school orchestra
Music score
Item no.: 775715
for: Piano
Item no.: 1362106
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