“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.
theme from second movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792101
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792103
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792109
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792093
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792098
theme from third movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792102
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 791918
Theme from first movement
for: Piano 4 hands
Music score
Item no.: 792003
Theme from third movement
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791816
theme from third movement
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792116
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792089
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792097
op. 10/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723220
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792100
theme from third movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792105
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792106
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792070
theme from first movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792094
op. 3/4
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723222
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792074
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792078
op. 3/1
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747472
theme from first movement
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792107
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792111
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791822
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792096
Thema des zweiten Satzes
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792119
op. 34/14
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 731514
theme from second movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792104
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792081
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792083
op. 16/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747589
theme from third movement
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792086
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792113
op. 32/12
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 747592
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792090
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792121
theme from third movement
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792075
for: Flute, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792057
theme from third movement
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792112
theme from first movement
for: Alto saxophone, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792092
theme from first movement
for: Clarinet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792072
for: Trumpet, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792110
for: Violin, piano
Music score
Item no.: 792114
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791819
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 791818
op. 3/3
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 732368
op. 3/5
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 723223