“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: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 197554
for: 2 pianos
2 Scores
Item no.: 157103
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 621809
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 617335
for: SSAATTBB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 614857
for: Alt-Saxophon und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199730
for: Horn und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199729
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Book
Item no.: 911922
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197557
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197492
for: Violin, piano
Book, CD
Item no.: 560094
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636098
for: Trombone, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635716
for: Alto Trombone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635705
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601361
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283964
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283956
for: Voice (baritone), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1306158
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615164
for: Euphonium & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636607
for: Eb Bass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636593
for: Eb Horn & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636591
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637099
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251527
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251522
Score
Item no.: 638281
for: Voice, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1254112
for: Oboe, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246281
for: Treble recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246271
for: Soprano saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246266
for: Horn (E-flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246253
for: Alto trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246251
for: Viola, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246242
for: Viola, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246241
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246232
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250872
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250860
for: Mixed choir, concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314771
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308174
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308172
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308169
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307519
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307517
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307513
for: Clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302941
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302899
for: Euphonium, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302896
for: Piano
Item no.: 187879
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