“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: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792111
Gm
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554077
Eb
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1561401
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1351130
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589129
for: Horn (F), organ [piano]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246256
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589535
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553383
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554653
D
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554282
F#m
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612530
Em
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612529
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250875
for: Tenor saxophone (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250871
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250859
for: Clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246280
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246278
for: Alto trombone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246252
for: Double bass, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246237
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792096
Thema des zweiten Satzes
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792119
for: Bassoon, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615164
op. 34/14
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 731514
theme from second movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792104
for: Tuba (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637099
op. 16/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747589
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792113
F
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1561112
for: Piano
Item no.: 1523588
for: Euphonium & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636607
for: Eb Bass & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636593
for: Eb Horn & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636591
for: Voice, orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1254112
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250872
for: Flute, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251527
for: Horn (E-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251522
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250860
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383394
Gm
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612146
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589471
Db
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1589349
for: Oboe, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246281
for: Treble recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246271
for: Soprano saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246266
for: Horn (E-flat), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246253
for: Alto trombone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246251
for: Viola, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246242
for: Viola, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246241