Taneyev: String Trio in E-Flat Major, Op. 31 & Piano Quartet in E Major, Op. 20

Featuring

Boris Brovtsyn
Gareth Lubbe
Alexey Stadler
Eldar Nebolsin
Spectrum Concerts Berlin
Sergei Taneyev

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Composer Biography

Taneyev premiered all of Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky's works for piano and orchestra, including the Piano Concerto No. 3 and the Andante and Finale, which he prepared for publication after Tchaikovsky's death.

Instruments

The String Trio in E flat major, Op. 31 was originally intended for the unusual combination of violin, viola, and tenor viola, an experimental instrument tuned a fourth lower than a regular viola.

Composer Biography

Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev, the composer, was the first student in the history of the Moscow Conservatoire to graduate with a gold medal in both piano and composition.

Recording & Production

This album is a co-production between Naxos, Spectrum Concerts Berlin, and Deutschlandfunk Kultur, recorded in Berlin in April 2021.

Compositional Technique

Taneyev's compositions often achieve a sense of unity because their themes are derived from each other through techniques like inversion, retrograde, augmentation, or diminution.

Critical Reception

During his lifetime, Taneyev's chamber music was considered on par with that of the great Viennese masters, but much of his work has since been unheard.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Taneyev was known for his balanced structures and thorough processing of musical material, leading some to call him the 'Russian Brahms,' though he disliked Brahms's music.