“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.
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1194387
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 1204671
für 11-12 Violoncelli
for: 12 cellos
Score, Parts
Item no.: 673268
Buch
Item no.: 248958
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Item no.: 312600
for: Classical
Buch
Item no.: 249443
Book
Item no.: 362652
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 362293
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 166680
für 3 Flöten und 4 Klarinetten in B
for: Woodwind ensemble
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 396789
Ballett in zwei Akten
Repertoire Explorer
for: Symphonic orchestra
2 Study scores
Item no.: 1340710
Klassik
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 1204628
for: 4 guitars (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1071561
for: Euphoniumquartett
Book
Item no.: 1142870
for: 4 guitars (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1071512
for: FL (OB) KLAR KLAV
Item no.: 428616
Dance of Little Swans and Spanish Dance
for: 8 clarinets
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1016753
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 163743
Th. 83
for: 4 Bassoons
Score, Parts
Item no.: 830253
Symphony No. 2 in B minor
Orchestra
for: Symphonic orchestra
Item no.: 1344228
Klassik
for: Clarinet or Trumpet and Piano
Book
Item no.: 971884
for: Harmonium
Music score
Item no.: 1201846
for: Marching band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1023418
Chanson Triste
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1009869
June
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1067755
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1060752
for: 5 brass winds
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1091115
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1069228
for: 4 horns (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1023659
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1651333
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 946146
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 949494
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score
Item no.: 842973
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 893797
for: Classical
Score
Item no.: 254013
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 956159
for: Cello, strings
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 147309
for: 4 saxophones (SATBar)
Item no.: 187518
for: Cello, strings
Cello (orchestral part)
Item no.: 339747
for: Flute, string orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 430684
for: Violin, piano
Book
Item no.: 367091
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 261932
for: Symphonic orchestra
Viola (orchestral part)
Item no.: 1664469
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1648799
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1648654
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 1 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 428941
for: Symphonic orchestra
Violin 2 (orchestral part)
Item no.: 340536