“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.
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Choir part Soprano
Item no.: 358919
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 140109
for: Flute, piano
Book
Item no.: 296912
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 956793
from The Nutcracker
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 722302
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 971762
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1713768
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 494818
for: Mixed choir (4 voices) a cappella
Score (with critical report)
Item no.: 772274
Prepared by the P. I. Tchaikowsky Scientific and Publishing Board
Petr Il'ic Cajkovskij – New Edition of Complete Works XII
Book
Item no.: 471737
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 198559
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1215443
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 863097
No. 55
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1590814
from 'Pictures at an Exhibition'
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1211259
Lehrhilfsmittel
for: Klarinettentrio
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1107322
The Great Classics
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1211255
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 890856
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 869622
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 838752
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1714270
for: Flute
Music score
Item no.: 971667
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 494186
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 430067
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Choir part Tenor
Item no.: 358920
In a simple arrangement for piano
Get to Know Classical Masterpieces
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1215445
Book
Item no.: 172615
Book (softcover)
Item no.: 134848
for: Trumpet
CD-ROM
Item no.: 1204342
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 957875
from Pictures at an Exhibition
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 722304
for: Marimba
Book
Item no.: 1106942
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 920854
for: Flute, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 634029
for: Mixed choir (SATB), orchestra
Choir part Alto
Item no.: 358917
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 603319
Concert Band
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1070558
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 956661
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 813423
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 956537
for: Flexible ensemble (5 voices); drums ad lib.
Score
Item no.: 811545
from The Nutcracker
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 732076
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1036790
for: Alto saxophone (E-flat)
Music score
Item no.: 1106839
for: Women's choir (SSAA) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1093162
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 1697324
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 958158
for: Medium Low Voice and Piano
Book
Item no.: 169691