“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.
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1017726
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Item no.: 129058
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 198011
Urtext Edition, clothbound
for: Piano
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1640744
Score
Item no.: 430029
Transkription der Symphonie Nr. 2
(für Aufführungen werden zwei Exemplare benötigt)
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction
Item no.: 641980
Urtext Edition, clothbound
for: Piano
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1640747
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 767294
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 348387
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 367054
for: Double bass, piano
Book
Item no.: 164474
Variation Nr. 18
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 349923
for: Piano, orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1665540
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1552139
Prüfungsliteratur
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 138598
Edition Schott Einzelausgabe
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 356199
(Urtext)
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 617082
op. 33 1st and 2nd Versions, op. 39 (SR 64)
Rachmaninoff Practical Urtext Editions 4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 676420
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197686
Boosey Masterworks
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 373489
Versions 1913 and 1931
for: Piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 679499
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792117
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 736149
Románc op. 4/5
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 254898
Autorisierte Erstausgabe
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 228994
Music Minus One
for: Piano
Music score, online audio
Item no.: 1541582
Belwin Classic Library
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 403821
Music Minus One
for: Piano
Music score, online audio
Item no.: 1541577
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 457008
Reduction for 2 pianos
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 197741
op. 3, 23, 32
G. Schirmer’s Library of Musical Classics
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 208880
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1552161
op. 23/9
for: Violin, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 896919
Piano Solo Arrangement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1353397
Critical Edition of the Complete Works
Rachmaninoff Critical Edition of the Complete Works Volume 16.2
for: Piano
Score (with critical report)
Item no.: 684140
für Violine und Klavier
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 300114
op. 32/5
for: Violin, piano
Score, part
Item no.: 895388
aus "Romanzen, op. 34 (Nr. 14)
for: Violin, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 498715
Klassik
for: Cello, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283947
op. 34 n° 14
arranged for alto saxophone and piano
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6604
for: Piano Trio
Set of parts
Item no.: 198094
for: Piano
Item no.: 494405
op. 34 n° 14
arranged for violin and piano
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6601
The Monuments of Russian Sacred Music Serie IX, Vol. 1
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 297337
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197555
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 326295
Boosey Masterworks
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 144058
Miscellaneous Pieces
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 357794
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