“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.
Spring Waters
for: Mezzo-Soprano [Bartion] and Piano
Book
Item no.: 911000
Theme from third movement
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 894308
for: Flute, piano
Book
Item no.: 1191439
Klassik
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1111442
Slawa Otzu i Jedinorodny
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105726
Budi imja Gospodne
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105699
Kanon
for: Mixed choir (SSATTB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105644
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 865781
for: Cello, piano
Item no.: 1701626
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 1428
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 147913
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1010990
for: SAATTB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 907252
for: 2 Git Vc
Item no.: 636345
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1194021
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1203584
Miniature Score Series
Study score
Item no.: 296011
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 1017111
for: S Solo, SATB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1005160
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1060069
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 915127
Geistliche Musik
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1092451
for: Horn, piano
Item no.: 474151
for: 2 Git Vc
Item no.: 636426
Chwalite Gospoda s nebes
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105731
Blagoslowen grjady i Widechom swet istinny
for: Mixed choir (SAATTB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105720
Wo zarstwiji Twojem
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105702
Wo zarstwiji Twojem
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105648
for: Cello, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1650303
for: Piano Duets & Four Hands
Item no.: 1523387
Nr. 14 Thou Didst Arise from the Tomb (Voskres iz groba)
for: Mixed Choir [SATB] A Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 471556
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1202453
for: Fanfare
Score, Parts
Item no.: 999398
for: 5 flutes (quintet)
Buch
Item no.: 1584504
for: Electric organ
Item no.: 475029
Die in den Fürbitten unermüdliche Gottesgebärerin
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105676
Three Russian Songs for chorus and orchestra Op. 41
Choir/Voice & Orchestra
Item no.: 1344151
op. 30
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1650774
aus dem Klavierkonzert fis-Moll
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 909882
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1349841
for: Classical
Score
Item no.: 186682
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1000840
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 891277
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132469
Buch
Item no.: 248958
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Item no.: 312600
for: Soloists, mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1105657
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 163743
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