“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: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636094
for: Euphonium & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635714
for: Eb Cornet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635699
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601375
for: 2 pianos
Piano score
Item no.: 197739
for: Voice (alto), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249502
for: Voice (tenor), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249501
for: Voice (bass), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249499
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250868
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250863
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250862
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246282
for: Alto saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246264
for: Tenor saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246261
for: Trumpet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246257
for: Horn (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246254
for: Tuba, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246245
for: Cello, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246240
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246238
for: Euphonium, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246236
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251521
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637102
for: Bass trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637101
for: Clarinet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636594
Blagoslowen jesi, Gospodi
Coro SSAATTBB, [Pfte for rehearsal only]
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 638368
Score
Item no.: 638236
for: Piano
Item no.: 356472
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383386
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1380331
for: Piano
Book, Songbook
Item no.: 624220
for: Voice, orchestra
Set of parts
Item no.: 1202456
Klassik
for: Bass clarinet, piano
Buch + Einzelstimme(n)
Item no.: 1591302
Klavierauszug (kyr/dt)
for: BUEHNENWERKE + SZENISCHE WERKE OPER
Item no.: 1344076
Goodmusic Concert Classics
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 951697
for: Klarinettenensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 994923
for: Flute ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 993934
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 928849
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 946142
for: Piano
Item no.: 634340
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1203370
op. 3/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732368
op. 3/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 748997
op. 10/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 739731
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 739730
op. 3/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723223
op. 16/6
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 756103
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612162
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