“Where the heart does not enter; there can be no music” Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
What is hidden in the heart of Russian music? Pain and suffering, love and passion, a simple and vulnerable human soul, that never loses its pride and confidence. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore for yourself the deepest reaches of the romantic Russian composers’ souls today.
As was very prevalent around Europe at the time, a strong national movement emerged in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. The defeat of the Napoleonic armies in 1812 united the Russian nation, and created a great opportunity for the development of music and culture. The Russian National School was born from the synthesis of Russian folk music, exotic imports, and European musical influences, and was renowned for its profound emotions and its new and progressive harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures. Michail Iwanowitsch Glinka is deemed by many to be the founder of the Russian National School, and he was closely followed by Alexander Sergejewitsch Dargomyschski.
“The Mighty Handful” or “The Group of Five” (also known as “The Novators” or “The New Russian School”) was an association of five prominent composers, whose aim was to create a specifically Russian style of music, and not to imitate older European models. The group was founded in 1856, and its comprised of Mili Balakirew, César Antonowitsch Cui, Alexander Borodin, Modest Petrovitsch Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The Might Handful taught many other great Russian composers, who also took up their style and supported their values, including the romantic composer Alexander Glazunov and the modernists Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.
The most important Russian composer of the 19th century is without a doubt Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s music reflects his profound, melancholy inner world, while embracing Russian folk music, in all its authentic beauty. The Symphonies by Tchaikovsky count amongst some of the best orchestral works of the 19th century, as do his trio of Ballets Sleeping Beauty , Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, with which the composer raised the whole form to a new level.
“Music is no illusion, but rather a revelation. Its triumphant power lies in the fact that it reveals to us beauties we find in no other sphere; and the apprehension of them is not transitory, but a perpetual reconcilement to life.” Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The last of the late Romantic Russian composers are Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin. While Rachmaninoff generally remains true to the Russian musical legacy of the 19th century, there are many modern elements in Scriabin’s music, particularly in his use of harmony and instrumentation.
from Pictures at an Exhibition
for: 4 flutes [3 flutes, alto flute]
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1016124
für Orchester
Studienpartitur
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1344893
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1201099
Klassik
for: Clarinet or Trumpet and Piano
Book
Item no.: 971952
for: Horn
Music score
Item no.: 941398
Single part Violin
Item no.: 937384
Hymn and March
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1060335
William Allen Music – Competition Series
for: Marching band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1023405
Overture
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1064025
BOVACO Vocal Solo
for: Voice, concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1025121
for: Concert Band and Vocal Soloist
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1064763
Concert Band
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1018859
for: FL (VL/OB) VA KLAV
Stimmen-Set
Item no.: 578197
for: B INST (KLAR) KLAV
Item no.: 194129
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Book
Item no.: 1106719
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 949598
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 949585
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1060836
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1060772
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1016518
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1068607
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1068284
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1062528
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1065998
for: Accordion orchestra
Score
Item no.: 175742
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 838292
for: Piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 348547
for: Flexible Instrumentation
Score, Parts
Item no.: 477828
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1009233
Lyrical Scenes in 3 actes
Lyric book
Item no.: 1341119
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 969040
for: Women's Choir [SSA] and Piano 4 Hands
Choir score
Item no.: 937891
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 1204521
Book
Item no.: 1204491
Book
Item no.: 1204713
for: Piano, orchestra
Buch
Item no.: 1193982
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1650784
for: Symphonic orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1664471
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1648098
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1648817
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1647234
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383152
for: Cello, orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 628956
for: Symphonic orchestra
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 428938
for: Symphonic orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 432655
for: Mixed Choir [SATB] A Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 471521
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 358956
for: Voice (medium), piano
Piano score
Item no.: 358834