“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: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 363578
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 579456
Klassik
for: Clarinet [saxophone], piano
Buch
Item no.: 303196
for: Violin
Music score
Item no.: 1664573
for: Concert Band/Harmonie/Fanfare
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1105136
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 422847
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 1541508
for: Oboe, piano
Book
Item no.: 1106909
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 947781
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 947242
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 945684
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 943522
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 939901
for: Trumpet, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 995523
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 479681
for: Voice, piano
Music score
Item no.: 860953
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 808355
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 864014
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 620535
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 927209
12 Selected Piano Pieces
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 657501
for Piano
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 678492
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 803332
for: Low Brass
CD-ROM
Item no.: 1204428
for: Double bass, piano
Buch
Item no.: 1135953
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 325176
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Score
Item no.: 963434
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 169661
for: Flexible ensemble
Score, Set of parts
Item no.: 661017
for: Jazz ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 942974
for: Clarinet, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301372
for: Tenor recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301362
for: Baritone saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301352
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301349
for: Trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301342
for: Violin, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1301337
for: Clarinet, concert band
Sheet music
Item no.: 1313055
for: Trumpet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1310664
for: Soprano saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285178
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285176
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285174
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285166
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1286171
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1286164
for: 4 brass instruments
Sheet music
Item no.: 1285338
for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1311310
for: Brass band
Sheet music
Item no.: 686107