“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: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612549
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1612542
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792071
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589466
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589111
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1178490
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866714
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866674
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866619
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 914503
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1041785
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1613167
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 108923
First authorized edition
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 242589
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 664941
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 664772
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 908389
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano [organ]
Score
Item no.: 769630
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 849654
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 658334
for: Bariton, Choir and Orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 907610
for: Flute, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246284
for: Treble recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246272
for: Bass recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246267
for: Soprano saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246265
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615185
for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615184
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615176
for: Oboe, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637098
for: Alto saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637097
for: Trumpet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636585
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 632326
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404218
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283967
for: Baritone saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283961
for: Tuba & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635713
for: Trumpet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635692
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298746
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298215
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308177
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308175
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307514
for: Alto saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302925
for: Baritone saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302920
for: Euphonium, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302897
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636110
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601409
for: Bass clarinet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601388
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