“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: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1690286
Werke von J. S. Bach, César Franck und Sergej Rachmaninov
édition bon(n)orgue Vol. 6
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1678160
G
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1665761
for: Piano, orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1665540
БОГОРОДИЦЕ ДЕВО | boɡoˈrodʲitsɛ ˈdʲɛvo
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Item no.: 1664425
for: Cello, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1211442
édition bon(n)orgue Vol. 34
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 1646966
for: Flute ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1645312
for: 2 pianos
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1552161
Urtext Edition, clothbound
for: Piano
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1640747
Urtext Edition, clothbound
for: Piano
Music score (Hardcover, Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1640744
Two copies needed for performance
Orchestral material from Breitkopf & Härtel
for: Piano, orchestra
Piano reduction (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1558842
for: Mixed choir (SATB) a cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 1613206
Breitkopf Urtext Edition
for: Piano, orchestra
Score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 1633838
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Accompaniment
Item no.: 1638611
Bb
for: Clarinet
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612602
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612553
Gb
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612505
F#
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612089
F#m
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612530
Em
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612529
Gm
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612146
Dm
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612608
B
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612534
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612328
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612163
C#m
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612609
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612554
Bm
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612518
Bbm
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612517
Am
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612613
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612604
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612555
Bm
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612541
Ebm
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612043
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612601
Ab
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612162
Bb
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612161
A
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612612
Dm
for: Flute, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612610
Dm
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612550
Eb
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612521
for: Cello, piano
Music score
Item no.: 1613167
C#m
for: Violin, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612549
C#m
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1612542
for: Piano
Piano Duet
Item no.: 1612753
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612605
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612603