“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. 16
for: Piano
Item no.: 357258
Item no.: 1653481
for: 2 violins, piano
Item no.: 343787
for: 2 pianos
Item no.: 403763
Konzertwerk
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 129202
Two-Piano Score
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 161409
Klassik
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1672438
for: 2 pianos
2 Performance scores
Item no.: 161410
for: Piano, orchestra
Book
Item no.: 197740
op.34/14
for: Posaune und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199736
Nr. 7 The Six Psalms
The Monuments of Russian Sacred Music
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 640828
for: Oboe [flute], violin, cello, piano
Piano score, Solo parts
Item no.: 343786
for: Voice (mezzo-soprano), guitar
Sheet music
Item no.: 1306161
for: Trumpet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302919
Thema aus dem 3. Satz
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 168567
for: 2 pianos
2 Scores
Item no.: 157103
Arrangement for Piano solo
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197557
Weltlich
for: High Voice and SATB a Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1211414
for: Trumpet (B-flat), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404406
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 153442
Klassik
for: Oboe, piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283968
for: Piano, orchestra
Score
Item no.: 247103
Variation Nr. 18
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 143478
Two-Piano Score
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction
Item no.: 161407
for piano duet
for: Piano 4 hands
Ensemble score
Item no.: 197700
Klassik
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 1591212
Klassik
for: Trumpet [cornet], piano
Sheet music
Item no.: 1283960
op. 45
for: Orgel (2 Spieler)
Item no.: 648489
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 121342
Suite Nr. 1
for: 2 pianos
Piano score
Item no.: 197739
The orchestra accompaniments are arranged for a second piano. 2 Copies needed to perform
Schirmer's Library of Musical Classics, Vol. 1576
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 297190
for: Clarinet in A and Piano
Book
Item no.: 313182
for: Flute, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404520
for: Horn, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404469
for: Piano
Item no.: 490195
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 245659
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 152481
Klassik
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1178490
Henle Urtext Editions
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 664772
Urtextausgabe
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 658334
for: FL (OB) KLAV (+ VC)
Item no.: 1667734
für Gesang (tief) und Klavier
for: Voice (low), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 679868
for: Bass clarinet, piano [organ]
Sheet music
Item no.: 1302939
Gekürzte und erleichterte Ausgabe
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 197553
op. 3/2
for: Piano
Item no.: 356201
for piano duet (one piano, four hands)
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 161324
Autorisierte Erstausgabe
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 207297