“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
Item no.: 356200
for: Trombone, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 168542
Op. 34 n° 14
for: Voice (high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6600
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 134215
aus "Rhapsodie über ein Thema von Paganini" op. 43
edition pro salon
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Piano score, parts
Item no.: 762949
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 144556
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 245351
for piano duet
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 197700
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1215372
for: Tenor and SATB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1037669
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1038716
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1198194
Southern Music
for: Soprano Saxophone
Buch
Item no.: 927180
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553535
C
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589127
Am
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612613
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612604
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612555
Bm
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612541
Ebm
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612043
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589474
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Book
Item no.: 166449
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 163745
Bogoroditse Dyevo
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314092
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637102
for: Bass trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637101
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308168
for: Descant (soprano) recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302935
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302893
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: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601375
for: Clarinet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636594
for: Euphonium & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635714
for: Eb Cornet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635699
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636117
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636095
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636094
for: Mixed choir, concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314774
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1315459
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1315456
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: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251521
Variation Nr. 18
for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 146142
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246282