“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: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792117
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 736149
op. 34 n° 14
arranged for alto saxophone and piano
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6604
op. 34 n° 14
arranged for violin and piano
for: Violin, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 6601
for: Cello, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1051812
op. 34/14
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 741605
for: Bass trombone, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615168
for: Tuba, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615182
op. 3/4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 749037
A
for: Voice, piano [guitar]
Piano/Voice/Guitar
Item no.: 1029279
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612328
op. 23/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732369
for: Double bass, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637111
Simrock Original Edition
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1341036
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792103
for: Cornet (E-flat), piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637100
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792109
for: Tuba (B-flat), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615181
C
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1554734
for: Piano
Item no.: 1523400
for: Tuba & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636606
for: Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636599
for: Baritone Saxophone & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636597
for: Solo for Flute, Oboe, Clarinet, Bassoon, Trumpet, Horn, Trombone, Euphonium, Violin, Viola or Violoncello & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251614
for: Viola, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1251517
for: Flute, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246283
for: Piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1383385
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589536
G
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589462
Bm
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589459
Dm
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589117
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637108
for: Bass Clarinet & Orchestra
Sheet music
Item no.: 1636595
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553818
for: Euphonium, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1250865
for: Voice (mezzo-soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1249503
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
for: Trumpet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246258
for: Cello, guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1246239
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792093
for: Flute, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637114
for: Horn (F), piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1615171
БОГОРОДИЦЕ ДЕВО | boɡoˈrodʲitsɛ ˈdʲɛvo
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Item no.: 1664425
for: Tenor saxophone, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1637106
for: Piano Duets & Four Hands
Item no.: 1522305