“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
Music score, CD
Item no.: 893115
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 892566
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 948085
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 479681
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 887728
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1307520
for: Flute, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302944
for: Oboe, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302942
for: Treble recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302932
for: Tenor recorder, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302931
for: Trumpet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302918
for: Bass trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302908
for: Piccolo, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283970
for: Alto trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283957
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283954
for: Voice, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1310738
for: Concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1314772
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636100
for: Baritone Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635704
for: Eb Bass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635700
for: F Horn & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635697
for: Tenor Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1635695
for: Voice (soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1306162
for: Solo for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Violin, Viola or Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1308265
for: 2 pianos
Ensemble score
Item no.: 403692
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601381
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1601373
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792109
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792103
Simrock Original Edition
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1341036
for: Flute, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246283
for: Bassoon, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246276
for: Bassoon, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246275
for: Tenor recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246269
for: Alto saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246263
for: Trumpet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246258
for: Cello, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246239
for: Voice (mezzo-soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249503
for: Solo for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Violin, Viola or Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251614
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251517
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250865
for: Tuba & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636606
for: Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636599
for: Baritone Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636597
for: Bass Clarinet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636595
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553818
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554734