“Music is enough for a lifetime, but a lifetime is not enough for music.” Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff (1873-1943)
Sergei Rachmaninoff was a Russian pianist, composer and conductor. He is considered the last romantic among the great Russian composers. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore all his magnificent works today!
Unfortunately, Sergei Rachmaninoff’s childhood cannot be described as a particularly happy one. He was born into a wealthy aristocratic family, whose fortunes were soon dashed by his father’s decadent and debauched lifestyle, squandering all their money on mistresses and gambling. After his parents separated, the boy was sent to live with his grandmother, who recognised and nurtured his musical talents. At the age of nine, he joined the St. Petersburg Conservatoire. Despite his brilliant piano technique, and great musical talent, Rachmaninoff did not thrive at school, and was eventually sent off to Moscow, where he studied under the excellent teacher, Nikolai Zverev. It was in Moscow, that Rachmaninoff first began composing.
At the end of the 1890s, the young Rachmaninoff suffered two cruel turns of fate, both his close friend Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and his teacher Nikolai Zverev died. His 1st Symphony premiered in 1897, and although it was conducted by Alexander Glazunov, the performance was so lacking, that Rachmaninoff couldn’t bear to listen to any more, got up, and left the auditorium well before the end of the piece. The work was mercilessly slammed by the critics, and Rachmaninoff suffered a nervous breakdown. In the following three years, Rachmaninoff struggled to even pick up his quill.
It was not until after 1901 that Rachmaninoff finally turned back to music. He began to work as a conductor in Moscow, and slowly began to travel and perform again, first through Europe, and then the United States as a pianist and conductor. Soon however, the political situation in Russia became so dire, that in 1917, Rachmaninoff and his entire family bade a sad farewell to their homeland, never to return. They emigrated first to Scandinavia, and then in 1918, to America. He spent the final years of his life in the US and Switzerland, where he found peace in his villa, where he would retire after exhausting concert tours.
Stylistically, Sergei Rachmaninoff belongs to neo-romanticists, although his ideas were very original. His works are richly nationalistic, and encapture the essence of the Russian folk tradition. Rachmaninov was inspired by the typically Russian, expressive, romantic motifs and melodies of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Today, it is still possible to find recordings of Rachmaninoff’s piano playing; one can sit back, and admire his remarkable interpretive and expressive skills, and one can gain an insight into the composer’s inner thoughts, as he masterfully navigates his own magnificent works.
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1380331
Anthem for Mixed Voices
for: gemischter Chor (SATB) und Keyboard
Choir score
Item no.: 1625876
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383386
for: Alto Flute or Bass Flute
Book
Item no.: 994672
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1591214
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 229509
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 403791
for: Piano
Item no.: 403751
for: Piano
Music score, Playback-CD
Item no.: 694118
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 850138
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 849623
for: Piano
Music score, CD
Item no.: 849622
for: Clarinet, piano
Book, CD
Item no.: 560091
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792110
The Joy Of Rachmaninoff is a collection of 17 original and newly-arranged music by the great Russian Romanticist.
for: Piano
Book, Songbook
Item no.: 624220
op. 34 n° 14
arranged for clarinet (tenor saxophone) and piano
for: Clarinet (B-flat) [tenor saxophone], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6603
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Book
Item no.: 135436
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 121342
op. 34/14
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1548711
for: Symphonic orchestra
Book
Item no.: 304242
for: Piano
Item no.: 356472
for: 2 Euphoniums and 2 Tubas
Score, Parts
Item no.: 995759
for: Symphonic orchestra
Book
Item no.: 940729
Klassik
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 1591213
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 906368
Blagoslowen jesi, Gospodi
Coro SSAATTBB, [Pfte for rehearsal only]
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Score
Item no.: 638368
Score
Item no.: 638236
Score
Item no.: 198747
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 806517
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1611918
Suite Nr. 1
for: 2 pianos
Piano score
Item no.: 197739
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1326798
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1178353
for: Mezzo-soprano [or Bariton] and Piano
Buch
Item no.: 935076
for: Orgel (2 Spieler)
Item no.: 648489
Klassik
for: Bass clarinet, piano
Buch + Einzelstimme(n)
Item no.: 1591302
for: SATB divisi
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1037803
theme from third movement
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792077
Item no.: 621553
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612601
Ab
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612162
Ab
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589495
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792115
Gb
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553929
C
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1561118
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1561714
Klavierauszug (kyr/dt)
for: BUEHNENWERKE + SZENISCHE WERKE OPER
Item no.: 1344076
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553646