“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.
Op. 34 n° 14
for: Voice (high), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6600
for: Choral
Item no.: 1374325
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1379654
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1380331
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 736149
op. 34/14
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 741605
op. 26/12
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 757197
op. 21/7
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 757196
op. 34/14
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 731514
op. 16/6
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 756103
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1382503
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1381758
(from Morceaux de fantaisie op. 3/1)
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 734328
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383385
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383384
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383394
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383393
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383381
for: 2 pianos
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383386
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383382
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383318
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383383
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383374
for: Lead Sheet
Item no.: 1361287
for: Easy Piano
Item no.: 1361286
for: Piano
Item no.: 1362106
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1386451
op. 23/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732369
op. 10/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723220
op. 3/4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723222
op. 3/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747472
op. 16/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747589
op. 32/12
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747592
op. 3/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732368
op. 3/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723223
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 739730
op. 10/2
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 739731
op. 10/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723221
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792117
theme from second movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792101
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792103
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792109
for: Voice (mezzo-soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249503
for: Flute, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246283
for: Bassoon, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246276
for: Bassoon, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246275
for: Tenor recorder, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246269
for: Alto saxophone, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246263