“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: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1379654
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 849617
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 849662
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 893158
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383384
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 129202
for: 2 violins, piano
Item no.: 343787
Two-Piano Score
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 161409
op. 10/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 756023
for: Voice, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1202455
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 901304
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1005073
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Item no.: 1664425
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1001256
for: Piano
Music score, online audio
Item no.: 367793
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 129200
for: Cello, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 670270
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866727
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866657
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866624
for: Flute, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637114
for: Medium High Voice and Piano
Book
Item no.: 1076919
D
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553219
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 190542
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 899063
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 159875
for: Brass ensemble (8 voices)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 644196
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 108694
for: Solo, gemischter Chor (SATB) und Klavier
Choir score
Item no.: 1626240
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 486048
for: Voice (high), piano
Music score
Item no.: 184634
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1591218
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 301800
for: Two-Part Treble Voices [SA] and Organ
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1038476
Opus 18
for: Piano and Symphonic Band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1198640
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601379
Choral Music Experience
for: CH KLAV
Chorpartitur
Item no.: 611090
für Oboe und Klavier
for: Oboe, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 673272
for: Trumpet or Cornet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636610
for: Violin, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636601
for: Viola & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636600
for: Contrabass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635711
for: Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635706
for: Alto Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635693
for: Flute, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636111
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612553
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