“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.
Nr. 12 Wie mir's weh tut
for: Voice (soprano), piano
Book
Item no.: 911922
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1672524
for: Violin, piano
Book, CD
Item no.: 560094
for: Trumpet (B-flat), piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 404406
for: Piano, orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 621809
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Score
Item no.: 1653303
for: SSAATTBB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 614857
for: 2 pianos
Item no.: 129088
for: 2 violins, viola, cello (string quartet)
Item no.: 209233
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Score
Item no.: 920802
for: Two-Part Treble Voices [SA] and Piano
Choir score
Item no.: 905712
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 924602
Score
Item no.: 638281
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 866639
for: String orchestra
Score
Item no.: 944464
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 428276
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197557
for: Piano
Music lesson book (anthology)
Item no.: 633866
for: 2 pianos
2 Scores
Item no.: 157103
for: Piano
Item no.: 261236
for: Organ
Music score
Item no.: 910639
for: Piano
Item no.: 187879
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 617335
for: 2 pianos
Music score
Item no.: 666551
for: Alto and Tenor Soli and SATB divisi a Cappella
Choir score
Item no.: 901875
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 197492
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 1702668
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 316702
for: Alt-Saxophon und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199730
for: Piano
Single edition
Item no.: 197554
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 153442
for: Horn und Klavier
Score, solo part
Item no.: 1199729
From All-Night Vigil
for: Brass band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1112704
für Orchester
Studienpartitur
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1344080
for: Tenor and SATB
Einzelstimme
Item no.: 1041793
for: 4 trumpets, horn, 4 trombones, tuba
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1629036
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1561402
for: Bassoon, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 1556203
for 6 Bassoons and 2 Contrabassoons
for: Bassoon Ensemble
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1584541
G
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1665761
Bb
for: Clarinet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1612163
Em
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589464
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
Bb
for: Trumpet, piano
Instrumental Solo & Piano Accompaniment
Item no.: 1589126
for: Piano
Piano Solo
Item no.: 1553384