List of compositions by Sergei Rachmaninoff

Rachmaninoff at his estate Ivanovka, proofing his Piano Concerto No. 3 (1910)

The compositions of Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943) cover a variety of musical forms and genres. Born in Russia, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Zverev and Anton Arensky, and while there, composed some of his most famous works, including the first piano concerto (Op. 1) and the Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2). Although spread over three different opuses, he did go on to complete an important set of 24 preludes in all the major and minor keys. His Symphony No. 1 (Op. 13) was one of his first compositions as a "Free Artist" after graduation, and subsequently his first critical failure. The derision he received sent him into depression. After being sent through autosuggestive therapy, he composed his second piano concerto (Op. 18), which is still part of the major orchestra repertoire today. In 1909, he made his first tour of the United States, and composed Piano Concerto No. 3 (Op. 30), notable for its difficult cadenza. After this, due to migration from Russia in 1917 and his busy concert career, his output as a composer decreased, and during this period, he completed only six compositions. His last work, Symphonic Dances (Op. 45), was completed in 1940.

Works by musical form

Opus	Title	Instrumentation	Date completed
	Scherzo in D minor	orchestra	1887
	Manfred		1891, lost
	Suite in D minor		1891
	Youth Symphony, unfinished		1891
	Prince Rostislav		1891
7	The Rock		1893
	Two Don Juan Episodes		1894, lost
12	Caprice bohémien		1894
13	Symphony No. 1		1896
27	Symphony No. 2		1908
29	Isle of the Dead		1908
44	Symphony No. 3		1936
45	Symphonic Dances		1940
	Romance in A minor	violin and piano	1880s?	Cello Sonata (Op. 19). ---- Listen, excerpt
	String Quartet No. 1	two violins, viola, and cello	1890?
	Lied	cello and piano	1890
	Mélodie on a Theme of Rachmaninoff	violin or cello and piano	1890?
	Trio élégiaque No. 1	violin, cello, and piano	1892
2	Two Pieces (Prelude, Danse orientale)	cello and piano	1892
6	Morceaux de salon (Romance, Danse hongroise)	violin and piano	1893
9	Trio élégiaque No. 2	piano, violin, and cello	1893, revised 1906 [Boosey & Hawkes ed.], 1913 [modern Russian ed.]
	String Quartet No. 2	two violins, viola, and cello	1896?
19	Cello Sonata	cello and piano	1901
	Concerto in C minor, projected	piano and orchestra	1889	Piano Concerto No. 3 (Op. 30) is notable for its massive ossia. ---- Listen, excerpt
1	Piano Concerto No. 1		1891, revised 1917
18	Piano Concerto No. 2		1901
30	Piano Concerto No. 3		1909
40	Piano Concerto No. 4		1926, revised 1941
43	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini		1934
	Étude in F-sharp major [lost]		1886?
	Lento in D minor		1887?
	Four Pieces		1887 or later?
	Romance, Prelude, Mélodie, Gavotte
	Three Nocturnes		1888
	Andante cantabile, Andante maestoso-Allegro assai, Andante
	Piece (Canon) in E minor		1891
	Prelude in F major		1891
3	Morceaux de fantaisie		1892	Prelude in C-sharp minor (Op. 3, No. 2) is famous for its theme and coda. ---- Listen, complete
	No. 1, Élégie in E-flat minor No. 2, Prélude in C-sharp minor No. 3, Mélodie in E major (later revised) No. 4, Polichinelle No. 5, Serenade
10	Morceaux de salon		1894
	No. 1, Nocturne in A minor No. 2, Valse in A major No. 3, Barcarolle in G minor No. 4, Mélodie in E minor No. 5, Humoresque in G major No. 6, Romance in F minor No. 7, Mazurka in D-flat major
	Four Improvisations (with Arensky, Glazunov, Taneyev)		1896
16	Six moments musicaux		1896	Six moments musicaux (Op. 16), range in style from the slow Andantino (pictured) to the torrential Presto. ---- Listen, excerpt
	No. 1 Andantino in B-flat minor No. 2 Allegretto in E-flat minor No. 3 Andante cantabile in B minor No. 4 Presto in E minor No. 5 Adagio sostenuto in D-flat major No. 6 Maestoso in C major
	Morceau de Fantaisie in G minor		1899
	Fughetta in F major		1899
22	Variations on a Theme of Chopin		1903
23	Ten Preludes		1903	Prelude in G minor (Op. 23, No. 5) embodies his Russian spirit
	No. 1, in F-sharp minor No. 2, in B-flat major No. 3, in D minor No. 4, in D major No. 5, in G minor No. 6, in E-flat major No. 7, in C minor No. 8, in A-flat major No. 9, in E-flat minor No. 10, in G-flat major
28	Piano Sonata No. 1		1908
32	Thirteen Preludes		1910
	No. 1, in C major No. 2, in B-flat minor No. 3, in E major No. 4, in E minor No. 5, in G major No. 6, in F minor No. 7, in F major No. 8, in A minor No. 9, in A major No. 10, in B minor No. 11, in B major No. 12, in G-sharp minor No. 13, in D-flat major
33	Études-Tableaux		1911
	No. 1, in F minor No. 2, in C major No. 3, in C minor No. 4, in D minor No. 5, in E-flat minor No. 6, in E-flat major No. 7, in G minor No. 8, in C-sharp minor
36	Piano Sonata No. 2		1913, revised 1931
39	Études-Tableaux		1916
	No. 1, in C minor No. 2, in A minor No. 3, in F-sharp minor No. 4, in B minor No. 5, in E-flat minor No. 6, in A minor No. 7, in C minor No. 8, in D minor No. 9, in D major
	Three Pieces (Prelude in D minor, Oriental Sketch, Fragments)		1917
42	Variations on a Theme of Corelli		1931
	Two Pieces (Valse, Romance)	piano six hands	1891	The first movement of Suite No. 2 (Op. 17) is full of idiosyncratically large and thick chords.
	Russian Rhapsody	two pianos	1891
5	Suite No. 1 (or Fantaisie-Tableaux for two pianos)	two pianos	1893
	Romance in G major	piano duet	1894?
11	Six Morceaux	piano duet	1894
	No. 1, Barcarolle No. 2, Scherzo No. 3, Thème Russe No. 4, Valse No. 5, Romance No. 6, Slava
17	Suite No. 2	two pianos	1901
	Polka Italienne	piano duet	1906?
	Transcription of Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony	piano duet	1886, lost
	Transcription of Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty	piano duet	1891
	Transcription of Glazunov: Symphony No. 6	piano duet	1896
	Paraphrase of Bizet: Minuet from L'Arlésienne	piano	1900, revised 1922
	Transcription of Franz Behr: Lachtäubchen, Op. 303 (published as Polka de W.R.)	piano	1911
	Transcription of John Stafford Smith: The Star-Spangled Banner	piano	1918
	Cadenza for Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2	piano	1919
	Paraphrase of Kreisler: Liebesleid	piano	1921
	Paraphrase of Mussorgsky: Gopak from The Fair at Sorochyntsi	piano	1923
	Paraphrase of Schubert: Wohin? (D795/2)	piano	1925
	Paraphrase of Kreisler: Liebesfreud	piano	1925
	Paraphrase of Mussorgsky: Gopak from The Fair at Sorochyntsi	piano and violin	1926
	Paraphrase of Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee	piano	1929
	Paraphrase of Mendelssohn: Scherzo from the Incidental music to Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream	piano	1933
	Paraphrase of Bach: movements from Partita No. 3 in E major for unaccompanied violin (BWV 1006)	piano	1933 or 1934
	Paraphrase of Tchaikovsky: Lullaby	piano	1941
	Esmeralda, projected		1888
	Aleko		1892
24	The Miserly Knight		1904
25	Francesca da Rimini		1905
	Salammbô, projected		1906
	Monna Vanna, unfinished		1908
	Deus Meus	six-part mixed chorus	1890?
	O Mother of God Perpetually Praying: a Choral Concerto in G minor	mixed chorus	1893
	Chorus of Spirits	mixed chorus	1894?
	Song of the Nightingale	four-part mixed chorus and piano	1894?
15	Six Choruses for Women's or Children's Voices	Women's or Children's chorus	1895
	Be Praised, Night, The Pine, The Waves Slumbered, Slavery, The Angel
	Panteley the Healer	mixed chorus	1899
20	Spring, cantata	baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra	1902
31	Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom	chorus	1910
35	The Bells	voice soloists, chorus, and orchestra	1913
37	All-Night Vigil	chorus	1915
41	Three Russian Songs	chorus and orchestra	1927
	"Again you are Bestirred, my Heart"		1890 or 1893
	"At the Gates of the Holy Cloister"		1890
	Two Boris monologues		1891?
	"C'etait en Avril"		1891
	"Dusk was Falling"		1891
4	Six Songs		1890–1893	The lyrics of "Oh, My Corn Field!" (Op. 4, No. 5) are based on a text by Aleksei Tolstoy that laments a failed harvest. ---- Listen, excerpt
	"Oh No, I Beg You, Do Not Leave!", "Morning", "In the Silence of the Secret Night", "Sing not, O Lovely One", "Oh, My Corn Field!", "It Was Not Long Ago, My Friend"
	"Song of the Disenchanted,"		1893?
	"Do you Remember the Evening?"		1893?
	"The Flower Died"		1893
8	Six Songs		1893
	"Water Lily", "My Child, Your Beauty is That of a Flower", "Thoughts, Reflections", "I Fell in Love, To My Sorrow", "A Dream", "Prayer"
14	Twelve Songs		1896
	"I Await You", "Small Island", "How Fleeting is Delight in Love", "I was with Her", "Summer Nights", "You are so Beloved by All", "Do Not Believe me, Friend", "Oh, do not Grieve", "She is as Beautiful as Midday", "In my Soul", "Spring Torrents", "It is Time!"
	"Were you Hiccupping?"		1899
	"Night"		1900
21	Twelve Songs		1902
	"Fate", "By a Fresh Grave", "Twilight", "They Replied", "Lilacs", "Fragment from 'de Musset'", "How Peaceful", "On the Death of a Linnet", "Melody", "Before the Icon", "I am not a Prophet", "How Pained I am"
26	Fifteen Songs		1906
	"There are Many Sounds", "All was Taken from Me", "We shall Rest", "Two Farewells", "Let us Leave, my Sweet", "Christ is Risen", "To the Children", "Beg for Mercy", "I am Again Alone", "At my Window", "The Fountain", Night is Sorrowful", "Yesterday we Met", "The Ring", "All Passes"
	"Letter to Stanislavsky"		1908
34	Fourteen Songs		1912	Vocalise (Op. 34, No. 14) is a slow piece either sung without words or played on a string instrument.
	"The Muse", "In the Soul of Each of Us", "The Storm", "The Migrant Wind", "Arion", "The Raising of Lazarus", "It Cannot Be", "Music", "You Knew Him", "I Remember that Day", "The Herald", "What Happiness", "Dissonance", "Vocalise"
	"From the Gospel of St. John"		1915
	"Prayer"		1916
	"All Things Wish to Sing"		1916
38	Six Songs		1916
	"At Night in my Garden", "To Her", "Daisies", "The Pied Piper", "Sleep", "A-oo!"

Chronological

Composed	Opus	Title	Instrumentation
1880		Romance in A minor	violin and piano
1886		Transcription of Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony	piano duet
1886		Étude in F-sharp major	piano
1887		Lento in D minor	piano
1887		Four Pieces: Romance, Prelude, Mélodie, Gavotte	piano
1887		Scherzo in D minor	orchestra
1888		Three Nocturnes: Andante cantabile, Andante maestoso-Allegro assai, Andante	piano
1888		Esmeralda	opera
1889		Concerto in C minor	piano and orchestra
1890		String Quartet No. 1	two violins, viola, and cello
1890		Lied	cello and piano
1890		Melodie on a Theme of Rachmaninoff	violin/cello and piano
1890–1	1	Piano Concerto No. 1, revised 1917	piano concerto
1890–1		Transcription of Tchaikovsky: The Sleeping Beauty	piano duet
1890–1		Two Pieces (Valse, Romance)	piano six hands
1890–1		Piece (Canon) in D minor	piano
1890		"At the Gates of the Holy Cloister"	solo voice and piano
1890		"Nothing Shall I Say You"	solo voice and piano
1890		Deus Meus	six-part mixed chorus
1890–1		Manfred, symphonic poem	orchestra
1891		Suite in D minor	orchestra
1891		Youth Symphony	orchestra
1891		Prince Rostislav, symphonic poem	orchestra
1891		Two Boris monologues	solo voice and piano
1891		"C'etait en Avril"	solo voice and piano
1891		"Dusk was Falling"	solo voice and piano
1891		Prelude in F major	piano
1891		Symphonic Movement in D minor	orchestra
1891		Russian Rhapsody	two pianos
1891–2	2	Two Pieces (Prelude, Danse Orientale)	cello and piano
1892		Trio élégiaque in G minor	violin, cello, and piano
1892		Aleko	opera
1892	3	Cinq Morceaux de Fantaisie	piano
		No. 1, Élégie in E-flat minor
		No. 2, Prélude in C-sharp minor
		No. 3, Mélodie in E major (later revised)
		No. 4, Polichinelle
		No. 5, Serenade
1893		"Again you are Bestirred, my Heart"
1893		"Song of the Disenchanted,"	solo voice and piano
1893		"Do you Remember the Evening?"	solo voice and piano
1893		"The Flower Died"	solo voice and piano
1893		O Mother of God Perpetually Praying	mixed chorus
1893	4	Six Songs	solo voice and piano
		"Oh No, I Beg You, Do Not Leave!"
		"Morning"
		"In the Silence of the Secret Night"
		"Sing not, O Lovely One"
		"Oh, My Corn Field!"
		"It Was Not Long Ago, My Friend"
1893	5	Suite No. 1 (or Fantaisie-Tableaux)	two pianos
1893	6	Deux Morceaux de Salon (Romance, Danse hongroise)	violin and piano
1893	7	The Rock, symphonic poem	orchestra
1893	8	Six Songs
		"Water Lily"
		"My Child, Your Beauty is That of a Flower"
		"Thoughts, Reflections"
		"I Fell in Love, To My Sorrow"
		"A Dream"
		"Prayer"
1893	9	Trio élégiaque No. 2, revised 1906	piano, violin, and cello
1893–4	10	Sept Morceaux de Salon	piano
		No. 1, Nocturne in A minor
		No. 2, Valse in A major
		No. 3, Barcarolle in G minor
		No. 4, Mélodie in E minor
		No. 5, Humoresque in G major
		No. 6, Romance in F minor
		No. 7, Mazurka in D-flat major
1894		Chorus of Spirits	mixed chorus
1894		Song of the Nightingale	four-part mixed chorus and piano
1894		Romance in G major	piano duet
1894	11	Six Morceaux	piano duet
		No. 1, Barcarolle
		No. 2, Scherzo
		No. 3, Thème Russe
		No. 4, Valse
		No. 5, Romance
		No. 6, Slava
1894		Two Don Juan Episodes	orchestra
1894	12	Capriccio Bohémien	orchestra
1895	13	Symphony No. 1	orchestra
1894–6	14	Twelve Songs
		"I Await You"
		"Small Island"
		"How Fleeting is Delight in Love"
		"I was with Her"
		"Summer Nights"
		"You are so Beloved by All"
		"Do Not Believe me, Friend"
		"Oh, do not Grieve"
		"She is as Beautiful as Midday"
		"In my Soul"
		"Spring Torrents"
		"It is Time!"
1895–6	15	Six Choruses for Women's or Children's Voices	Women's or Children's chorus
		Be Praised
		Night
		The Pine
		The Waves Slumbered
		Slavery
		The Angel
1896		String Quartet No. 2	two violins, viola, and cello
1896		Four Improvisations (with Arensky, Glazunov, Taneyev)	piano
1896	16	Six Moments Musicaux	piano
		No. 1 Andantino in B-flat minor
		No. 2 Allegretto in E-flat minor
		No. 3 Andante cantabile in B minor
		No. 4 Presto in E minor
		No. 5 Adagio sostenuto in D-flat major
		No. 6 Maestoso in C major
1896		Transcription of Glazunov: Symphony No. 6	piano duet
1899		Morceau de Fantaisie in G minor	piano
1899		Fughetta in F major	piano
1899		Panteley the Healer	mixed chorus
1899		"Were you Hiccupping?"	solo voice and piano
1900		"Night"	solo voice and piano
1900		Paraphrase of Bizet: Minuet from L'Arlésienne, revised 1922	piano
1900–1	17	Suite No. 2	two pianos
1900–1	18	Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor	piano concerto
1901	19	Cello Sonata in G minor	cello and piano
1902	20	Spring Cantata	baritone solo, chorus, and orchestra
1900–2	21	Twelve Songs
		"Fate"
		"By a Fresh Grave"
		"Twilight"
		"They Replied"
		"Lilacs"
		"Fragment from 'de Musset'"
		"How Peaceful"
		"On the Death of a Linnet"
		Melody"
		"Before the Icon"
		"I am not a Prophet"
		"How Pained I am"
1903	22	Variations on a Theme of Chopin	piano
1901–3	23	Ten Preludes	piano
		No. 1, in F-sharp minor
		No. 2, in B-flat major
		No. 3, in D minor
		No. 4, in D major
		No. 5, in G minor
		No. 6, in E-flat major
		No. 7, in C minor
		No. 8, in A-flat major
		No. 9, in E-flat minor
		No. 10, in G-flat major
1903–5	24	The Miserly Knight	opera
1904–5	25	Francesca da Rimini	opera
1906		Salammbô	opera
1906		Polka Italienne	piano duet
1906	26	Fifteen Songs
		"There are Many Sounds"
		"All was Taken from Me"
		"We shall Rest"
		"Two Farewells"
		"Let us Leave, my Sweet"
		"Christ is Risen"
		"To the Children"
		"Beg for Mercy"
		"I am Again Alone"
		"At my Window"
		"The Fountain"
		"Night is Sorrowful"
		"Yesterday we Met"
		"The Ring"
		"All Passes"
1906–7	27	Symphony No. 2	orchestra
1906–8		Monna Vanna	opera
1908	28	Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor	piano
1908		"Letter to Stanislavsky"
1909	29	The Isle of the Dead, symphonic poem	orchestra
1909	30	Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor	piano concerto
1910	31	Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom	unaccompanied mixed chorus
1910	32	Thirteen Preludes	piano
		No. 1, in C major
		No. 2, in B-flat minor
		No. 3, in E major
		No. 4, in E minor
		No. 5, in G major
		No. 6, in F minor
		No. 7, in F major
		No. 8, in A minor
		No. 9, in A major
		No. 10, in B minor
		No. 11, in B major
		No. 12, in G-sharp minor
		No. 13, in D-flat major
1911		Transcription of Franz Behr: Lachtäubchen, Op. 303 (published as Polka de W.R.)	piano
1911	33	Études-Tableaux
		No. 1, in F minor
		No. 2, in C major
		No. 3, in C minor
		No. 4, in D minor
		No. 5, in E-flat minor
		No. 6, in E-flat major
		No. 7, in G minor
		No. 8, in C-sharp minor
1910–2	34	Fourteen Songs
		"The Muse"
		"In the Soul of Each of Us"
		"The Storm"
		"The Migrant Wind"
		"Arion"
		"The Raising of Lazarus"
		"It Cannot Be"
		"Music"
		"You Knew Him"
		"I Remember that Day"
		"The Herald"
		"What Happiness"
		"Dissonance"
		"Vocalise"
1913	35	The Bells	voice soloists, chorus, and orchestra
1913	36	Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, revised 1931	piano
1915		"From the Gospel of St. John"	solo voice and piano
1915	37	All-Night Vigil	unaccompanied mixed chorus
1916		"Prayer"	solo voice and piano
1916		"All Things Wish to Sing"	solo voice and piano
1916	38	Six Songs
		"At Night in my Garden"
		"To Her"
		"Daisies"
		"The Pied Piper"
		"Sleep"
		"A-oo!"
1916	39	Études-Tableaux	piano
		No. 1, in C minor
		No. 2, in A minor
		No. 3, in F-sharp minor
		No. 4, in B minor
		No. 5, in E-flat minor
		No. 6, in A minor
		No. 7, in C minor
		No. 8, in D minor
		No. 9, in D major
1917		Three Pieces (Prelude in D minor, Oriental Sketch, Fragments)	piano
1918		Paraphrase of John Stafford Smith: The Star-Spangled Banner	piano
1919		Cadenza for Liszt: Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2	piano
1921		Paraphrase of Kreisler: Liebesleid	piano
1923		Paraphrase of Mussorgsky: Gopak from The Fair at Sorochyntsi	piano
1925		Paraphrase of Schubert: Wohin? (D795/2)	piano
1925		Paraphrase of Kreisler: Liebesfreud	piano
1926		Paraphrase of Mussorgsky: Gopak from The Fair at Sorochyntsi	piano and violin
1926	40	Piano Concerto No. 4 in G minor, revised 1941	piano concerto
1927	41	Three Russian Songs	chorus and orchestra
1929		Paraphrase of Rimsky-Korsakov: Flight of the Bumblebee	piano
1931	42	Variations on a Theme of Corelli	piano
1933		Paraphrase of Mendelssohn: Scherzo from A Midsummer Night's Dream	piano
1934		Paraphrase of Bach: movements from Partita No. 3 in E major (BWV 1006)	piano
1934	43	Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini	piano and orchestra
1936	44	Symphony No. 3	orchestra
1940	45	Symphonic Dances	orchestra
1941		Paraphrase of Tchaikovsky: Lullaby	piano

References

• Bertensson, Sergei; Jay Leyda (2001). Sergei Rachmaninoff: A Lifetime in Music. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University. ISBN 0-253-21421-1.
• Harrison, Max (2006). Rachmaninoff: Life, Works, Recordings. London: Continuum. ISBN 0-8264-9312-2.
• Norris, Geoffrey (1993). The Master Musicians: Rachmaninoff. New York City: Schirmer Books. ISBN 0-02-870685-4.
• Randel, Don M. (1999). The Harvard Concise Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press (Belknap). ISBN 0-674-00978-9.

External links

• List of Compositions by Rachmaninoff on imslp.org
• (Russian) Senar.ru - Streaming files of Rachmaninoff playing his compositions
• (Russian) Senar.ru - Rachmaninoff sheet music download
• (Russian) Chubrik.ru - Rachmaninoff audio download
• Lyrics for Songs