Presents
Sergei Taneyev
String Quartet No.4 in a minor, Op.11
"Taneyev's Fourth String Quartet was published in 1900 and dedicated to the famous Bohemian String Quartet. As a tip of the hat to them, the Adagio introduction to the first movement bears a striking resemblance to Czech folk melody. massive and outstanding string quintet for 2 violins, viola and 2 cellos was published as his opus 14. The main section, Allegro, has for its main theme a very simple, but very effective melody. The coda is especially rich. The second movement, Allegretto vivace e scherzando, is, as the title suggests, a scherzo. Here the writing demonstrates Taneyev's tremendous command of technique. The Adagio which follows gives off an aura of a spiritual peacefulness. The finale, Adagio-Presto, begins with a slow introduction similar to that of the quartet's opening bars. It leads to the main part of the movement which reaches a fevered pitch of excitement and emotion. In speaking of this work, two words come to mind: "Massive" and "Masterpiece."----The Chamber Music Journal
Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) is one of the greatest Russian composers from the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries and probably, from this group, the one whose music is the least known in the West. Taneyev came from an aristocratic family that patronized the arts and when Sergei's talent became apparent, his father sent him to the newly opened Moscow Conservatory at the age of 10. His main teachers there were Nicolai Rubinstein for piano and Tchaikovsky for composition. Although he became a brilliant pianist, Taneyev opted for a career as a composer and teacher and soon became a professor at the Conservatory. His fame both as a teacher and as a composer quickly spread. Among his many students were Gliere, Rachmaninov, Gretchaninov, Scriabin and Medtner. In Russian concert halls, one always finds a bust of Taneyev alongside those of Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Sadly, the fame of this outstanding composer has not spread beyond his homeland.
Influenced by Tchaikovsky, Taneyev preferred to write "pure" music rather than Russian-sounding or so-called "nationalistic" music based on Russian folk melodies. As such, he remained outside of the famous Nationalist School headed by Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and his music sounds markedly different from that of Rimsky and his famous students such as Borodin and Glazunov.
Parts: $29.95
