“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.
Wo zarstwiji Twojem
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105648
Theme from third movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791821
18th Variation
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 792227
theme from third movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792099
for: Concert band
Score
Item no.: 1000840
theme from first movement
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792080
theme from first movement
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792079
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792082
Three Russian Songs for chorus and orchestra Op. 41
Choir/Voice & Orchestra
Item no.: 1344151
for: 5 flutes (quintet)
Buch
Item no.: 1584504
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1349841
op. 30
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1650774
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791814
Theme from first movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791815
for: Classical
Score
Item no.: 186682
for: Electric organ
Item no.: 475029
Die in den Fürbitten unermüdliche Gottesgebärerin
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105676
aus dem Klavierkonzert fis-Moll
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 909882
Hawkes Pocket Scores HPS 1246
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 891277
Klavier
Solostimme
for: Piano
Ensemble score
Item no.: 1622543
for: Saxophone ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1132469
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792084
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 14 in three versions: Original version for Voice
Choir/Voice & Instrument(s) Choir/Voice & Orchestra
Item no.: 1344379
theme from third movement
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792087
Buch
Item no.: 248958
for: Soloists, mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1105657
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 163743
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Item no.: 312600
for: Brass band
Score
Item no.: 1001110
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792091
op. 45
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1650788
Thema des zweiten Satzes
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792085
No. 8 Cherubic Hymn
for: Mixed choir (SATB); piano ad lib.
Choir score
Item no.: 1005116
Nr. 15 To Thee the Victorious Leader (Vzbrannoy voyevode)
for: Mixed Choir [SATB] A Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 471521
Klassik
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 323718
for: B INST (KLAR) KLAV
Item no.: 194129
for: Classical
Buch
Item no.: 249573
theme from first movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792088
for: Mixed choir a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 641624
Ottsche nasch
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105738
Ishe cheruwimy
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105691
Trisagion
for: Mixed choir (SSAATTBB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1105688
Theme from second movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791820
Geistliche Musik
for: Male choir (TTBB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 1092447
from "Vespers" op. 37
Daehn Publications
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1031996
Unfinished
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Set of parts
Item no.: 1349844
For English Horn and Organ
for: Englischhorn und Orgel
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1624487
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