“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: Brass quintet
Sheet music
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for: Brass band
Sheet music
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for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
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op. 48
for: Orchestra
Study score
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op. 3/2
for: Piano
Music score
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for: Bassoon, piano
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for: 4 brass instruments
Sheet music
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for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
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for: Concert band
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for: Horn (F), piano
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for: 4 brass instruments
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for: Bassoon, piano
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for: Tuba, piano
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for: Trombone, piano
Sheet music
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Piano Solo
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Piano Solo
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Piano Solo
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for: Piano, French Horn
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
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for: Piano
Piano Solo
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for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
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for: Clarinet, piano
Sheet music
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for: 4 cellos
Set of parts
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for: Clarinet, piano
Piano score, solo part
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for: Piano
Piano Solo
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Piano Solo
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for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
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Piano Solo
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Easy Piano
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for: Clarinet & String Quartet
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for: Alto saxophone, piano
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for: Horn (F), piano
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for: Horn (E-flat), piano
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for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
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for: Violin, piano
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for: Trombone, piano
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for: Tuba, piano
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for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
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for: Piano
Piano Solo
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for: Flexible string ensemble
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for: Oboe, piano
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for: Clarinet, piano
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for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
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for: Tuba (E-flat), piano
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for: Soprano saxophone, guitar
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for: Tuba, guitar
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for: Cello, piano [organ]
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for: Double bass, guitar
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