“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: Soprano saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246265
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383382
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383318
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 658334
First authorized edition
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 242589
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 664772
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404218
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1178490
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1613167
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 664941
aus 'Deux morceaux de salon' op. 6
Die Musikbibliothek der Inspirationen Heft 04/2020
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 778593
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1591216
Clarinet in A
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 166402
for: Klarinettenchor
Score, Parts
Item no.: 993956
Nr. 4 O schönes Mädchen
for: Voice (medium), piano
Music score
Item no.: 910147
for: FL (OB) KLAV (+ VC)
Item no.: 1667734
for: FL (OB) KLAV (+ VC)
Item no.: 428582
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 661434
Reprint
for: Piano, orchestra
Score (spiral binding)
Item no.: 1202284
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1069454
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 849175
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: Violin, cello
Music score
Item no.: 1204655
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
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