“Where the heart does not enter; there can be no music” Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
What is hidden in the heart of Russian music? Pain and suffering, love and passion, a simple and vulnerable human soul, that never loses its pride and confidence. Browse our sheet music and scores, and explore for yourself the deepest reaches of the romantic Russian composers’ souls today.
As was very prevalent around Europe at the time, a strong national movement emerged in Russia at the beginning of the 19th century. The defeat of the Napoleonic armies in 1812 united the Russian nation, and created a great opportunity for the development of music and culture. The Russian National School was born from the synthesis of Russian folk music, exotic imports, and European musical influences, and was renowned for its profound emotions and its new and progressive harmonic, melodic and rhythmic structures. Michail Iwanowitsch Glinka is deemed by many to be the founder of the Russian National School, and he was closely followed by Alexander Sergejewitsch Dargomyschski.
“The Mighty Handful” or “The Group of Five” (also known as “The Novators” or “The New Russian School”) was an association of five prominent composers, whose aim was to create a specifically Russian style of music, and not to imitate older European models. The group was founded in 1856, and its comprised of Mili Balakirew, César Antonowitsch Cui, Alexander Borodin, Modest Petrovitsch Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The Might Handful taught many other great Russian composers, who also took up their style and supported their values, including the romantic composer Alexander Glazunov and the modernists Sergei Prokofiev, Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.
The most important Russian composer of the 19th century is without a doubt Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Tchaikovsky’s music reflects his profound, melancholy inner world, while embracing Russian folk music, in all its authentic beauty. The Symphonies by Tchaikovsky count amongst some of the best orchestral works of the 19th century, as do his trio of Ballets Sleeping Beauty , Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, with which the composer raised the whole form to a new level.
“Music is no illusion, but rather a revelation. Its triumphant power lies in the fact that it reveals to us beauties we find in no other sphere; and the apprehension of them is not transitory, but a perpetual reconcilement to life.” Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
The last of the late Romantic Russian composers are Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin. While Rachmaninoff generally remains true to the Russian musical legacy of the 19th century, there are many modern elements in Scriabin’s music, particularly in his use of harmony and instrumentation.
for: Timpani
Music score
Item no.: 314864
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 934091
for: Flute ensemble
Score
Item no.: 924865
for: Choral
Item no.: 1374581
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 358988
for: Symphonic orchestra
Study score
Item no.: 1704099
Lyric book
Item no.: 241448
for: Youth string orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 690411
for: Symphonic orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 206629
for: 4 Guitars
Score, Parts
Item no.: 371310
for: String orchestra
Stimmen-Set (Streicher 3/3/2/2/1)
Item no.: 203062
for: 4 trombones (quartet)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 141013
for: Cello, strings
Study score
Item no.: 554673
for: Violin [flute], piano
Item no.: 356264
for: Violin, piano
Item no.: 201455
for: Horn, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 682896
from the Nutcracker Suite
for: 4 recorders (SATB quartet)
Score, 4 Single part
Item no.: 225094
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 360544
Neuausgabe in Originaltonarten
Russisch / Deutsch (Urtextausgabe) (Urtext)
for: Voice (high/medium), piano
Music score (Urtext edition)
Item no.: 181160
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 257076
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 316340
for: String orchestra
Score, Parts
Item no.: 812454
for: Symphonic orchestra
Book
Item no.: 245757
for: Voice, piano
Book
Item no.: 1204546
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 316387
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 190542
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 315292
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 280066
for: Mixed choir (SATB), piano
Choir score
Item no.: 321877
for: Piano
Music score, online audio
Item no.: 560062
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 159875
for: Piano, orchestra
Harmony parts (complete winds)
Item no.: 687380
for: Symphonic orchestra
Piano part for conductor, Parts
Item no.: 1213094
for: Brass ensemble (8 voices)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 644196
for: 2 trumpets [horns]
Ensemble score, solo parts
Item no.: 240682
for: Piano
Item no.: 287398
for: Piano
Music score
Item no.: 108694
for: Concert band
Score, Parts
Item no.: 896098
for: Piano
Solostimme
Item no.: 134751
for: Voice, piano
Item no.: 1586362
for: Cello, piano
Score, Parts
Item no.: 1547654
for: 2–4 horns
Score, Parts
Item no.: 350516
for: Violin, cello, piano (piano trio)
Score, Parts
Item no.: 161354
for: Soloists, mixed choir, orchestra
Lyric book
Item no.: 357094
for: Cello, piano
Book
Item no.: 170330
for: Violin, piano
Piano score, solo part
Item no.: 197783