“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: Solo voice (soprano), mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 432602
for: SSAATTBB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 915601
for: Piano 4 hands [2 pianos 4 hands]
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 658582
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1344138
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 108695
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 131615
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 896697
for: Piano
Item no.: 188979
for: 2 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba (quintet), timpani
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1009402
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1585011
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1626635
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1678160
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 404540
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 160812
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 346280
for: Trumpet, piano
Book, CD
Item no.: 560093
for: Piano, orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1633838
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 164906
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404520
for: Mixed Choir [SATB] A Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 471552
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197552
for: Piano, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 486287
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 159379
for: Bass clarinet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283966
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601400
for: Piccolo, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601398
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601396
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601367
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1315435
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1315318
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636107
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302943
for: bass clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302938
for: Tenor recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302930
for: Soprano saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302927
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302913
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302895
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308173
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308167
for: Voice, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1310737
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250869
for: Descant (soprano) recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246274
for: Tuba, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246246
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246244
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251520
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637120
for: Bass clarinet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615175
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