“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: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250876
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250873
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250870
for: Double bass, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250858
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1357399
for: Women's Choir [SSAA]
Choir score
Item no.: 1168350
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1005072
for: SATTB and Organ
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1040656
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866611
for: TTBB divisi a Cappella
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 900004
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 245659
for: Mixed Choir [SATB] A Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1329320
for: Choir (2 voices), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1168903
The Seven Year Itch
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1209781
for: String orchestra
Stimmen-Set (Streicher 3/3/2/2/1)
Item no.: 129125
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Piano reduction
Item no.: 648373
for: 6 cellos
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1558958
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 621810
for: Cello
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 465415
for: GES-H KLAV / GES-M KLAV / GES-T KLAV
Item no.: 622441
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 769045
for: SSAATTBB
Score
Item no.: 621812
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 202985
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 152481
for: 2 pianos
Ensemble score
Item no.: 217476
for: Instrumental
CD-ROM
Item no.: 268942
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 160807
On a Theme of Paganini
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 963258
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 891762
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 848472
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 632326
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 628453
for: Guitar
Music score
Item no.: 1114232
for: Fanfare
Score
Item no.: 868984
Symphonic poem for orchestra op. 29
on a painting by Arnold Böcklin
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 1009111
for: Voice (low), piano
Book
Item no.: 1077293
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601409
for: Bass clarinet
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601388
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: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283967
for: Baritone saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283961
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298746
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1298215
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636110
for: Tuba & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635713
for: Trumpet, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635692