Sergei Taneyev's Tent of Twirbling Tones

[Cato]

Thanks, Cato! I'll be sure to explore more Taneyev in the near future. What do you think of the lovely Piano Quartet?

In my earlier years, I was no big fan of chamber music: solo piano works were something of an exception (Beethoven and Scriabin sonatas, Franck's Piano Quintet,  Bartok's Sixth Quartet, Ravel's, and Borodin's Second Quartet.

In later years, I began to open my ears to more things, and the Taneyev chamber music was a logical choice: yes, the Piano Quartet is one of those works which produces the epic, produces a universe of swirling, yes even twirbling  emotions!  Its story, whatever it might be, is one of scaling mountains and chasing angels. 0:)

One of the people commenting on YouTube compares it to the Borodin Second Quartet, and another says to listen to the audience's reaction at the end of this performance!  Their reaction "says it all" !

https://www.youtube.com/v/pu5SnoMuzKU

[kyjo]

In my earlier years, I was no big fan of chamber music: solo piano works were something of an exception (Beethoven and Scriabin sonatas, Franck's Piano Quintet,  Bartok's Sixth Quartet, Ravel's, and Borodin's Second Quartet.

In later years, I began to open my ears to more things, and the Taneyev chamber music was a logical choice: yes, the Piano Quartet is one of those works which produces the epic, produces a universe of swirling, yes even twirbling  emotions!  Its story, whatever it might be, is one of scaling mountains and chasing angels. 0:)

One of the people commenting on YouTube compares it to the Borodin Second Quartet, and another says to listen to the audience's reaction at the end of this performance!  Their reaction "says it all" !

https://www.youtube.com/v/pu5SnoMuzKU

Speaking of angels, I just noticed that the heavenly coda of the Piano Quartet is marked "Moderato serafico" - how fitting! 

[Cato]

Speaking of angels, I just noticed that the heavenly coda of the Piano Quartet is marked "Moderato serafico" - how fitting! 

0:) Amen!  0:)

[Cato]

I have been revisiting At the Reading of a Psalm  via the performance by...

[asin]B0002XMEO0[/asin]

Just a marvelous work!

[Cato]

I placed this earlier under What Are You Listening To Now?, and want to add another anecdote about Taneyev from a memoir by composer Nicolai Tcherepnin:

I have just yesterday found a memoir written by composer Nicolai Tcherepnin (1873-1945) shortly before his death.  It has several anecdotes about Sergei Taneyev:

e.g.

I also remember that I caught sight of Taneyev and his constellation* at one of the Moscow Philharmonic rehearsals of my symphonic poem, "Narcissus and Echo" and hastened to greet him with the usual "Venite adoremus " at the intermission and to ask him what impressions he had of my music. "Yes, well, as for the music, Nikolai Nikolaevich," he answered, "there was so much noise that I must confess I didn't notice it." I must say that this judgement was offensive to me and was scarcely merited or accurate. Be that as it may, my poem recently received the Glinka award and those conferring it to me had the right, no less than Taneyev, to lay claim to strict and scrupulous musical taste and to responsibility in evaluating new Russian musical compositions. Perhaps Taneyev said this, so to speak, "ad usum delphini," (in order not to tempt the little ones)  As for me personally, I always regarded Taneyev's music with a reverent awe and an involuntary, deliberate respect. It moved me only a little. As a conductor, I gladly included in my concert programs his very "Apollonian" little "Apollo's temple in Delphi" (an entr'acte from his stage work The Oresteia) -- with its beautiful, serene, heliac music and delightful orchestration.

* i.e. apparently Taneyev had a constant retinue of students around him.

A few years before the above, Tcherepnin had composed a cantata as part of a graduation requirement, a work which Taneyev had recommended for publication.  And so...

Thereafter, Taneyev always showed an interest in my composing and conducting activities. Did he like my music? I do not know; I do not think so . . . Perhaps my graduation cantata, in which he had shown such interest and affection, pleased him more than any of my other works. When Belaieff published an excerpt from the cantata ("Chant de Sapho," for soprano, women's chorus and orchestra, op. 5), I gratefully dedicated it to Sergei Ivanovich.
Once, during one of  Sergei Ivanovich's trips to Petersburg, my wife invited him to have lunch with us after one of the symphony rehearsals. Immediately upon arrival, he went over to the piano, on which happened to be the score of the first two movements of my "String Sextet in F-minor" on which I was then working. Glancing over the score, Sergei Ivanovich immediately proceeded to play through it, not for five or ten minutes, but, almost maliciously, for practically an hour, since both these movements were very long. Having played through them once, Sergei Ivanovich proceeded to do so a second time. In the meantime, the dishes had cooled, been reheated and burned. When he had finally finished painstakingly playing both movements, he got up from the piano. It turned out we had only a quarter of an hour left for lunch before he had to leave to meet the theater director in connection with a performance of his "Orestes"*, and I had to hurry off to my pupils at the Conservatory. So we had, in a real sense, also "played through" our lunch, to the utmost aggravation of our thoughtful, hospitable, kindly hostess, who had hoped to entertain the well-known Russian composer and pianist who was her old friend and an admirer of her mother's talents.

* i.e. Taneyev's opera The Oresteia

[Cato]

I just found this on YouTube: a television performance of the Cantata John of Damascus which Taneyev designated his Opus 1.


https://www.youtube.com/v/V1hA4qHk_IU

[kyjo]

I just found this on YouTube: a television performance of the Cantata John of Damascus which Taneyev designated his Opus 1.


https://www.youtube.com/v/V1hA4qHk_IU

Great find, Cato! That's a great work!

[Symphonic Addict]

Re-listening to the thoroughly impressive 4th Symphony under Järvi (Chandos). My goodness, what a work!!! A masterpiece of supreme greatness. The 4 movements are so consistent, masterfully written and memorable, one of the most remarkable Russian symphonies of early 20th Century. A work that goes from dark to light with a majestic ending. Taneyev at the height of his powers.

[vandermolen]

Re-listening to the thoroughly impressive 4th Symphony under Järvi (Chandos). My goodness, what a work!!! A masterpiece of supreme greatness. The 4 movements are so consistent, masterfully written and memorable, one of the most remarkable Russian symphonies of early 20th Century. A work that goes from dark to light with a majestic ending. Taneyev at the height of his powers.

I think that the 2nd and 4th symphonies are terrific.

[Symphonic Addict]

I think that the 2nd and 4th symphonies are terrific.

Precisely those are my favorites by him as well. Then the No. 3 and No. 1 (4, 2, 3, 1).

[SonicMan46]

String Works et al - Taneyev Quartet vs. Carpe Diem SQ?

Hi All - just coming around to re-listen to my Taneyev collection, have only a half dozen CDs (and would like to cull and add - have some duplications).  Present collection includes: 1) String Quartets, first 2 volumes w/ Carpe Diem; 2) Complete Quintets w/ the Taneyev Quartet; 3) Complete String Trios, own both the Belcanto Strings & the Leopold Trio - could cull out one; and 4) Piano Quintet & Trio w/ Repin (duplicated in other recordings owned). 

In perusing Amazon USA today, I saw that Northern Flowers is now offering a 10-disc box w/ the Taneyev Quartet at the great price!

SO, having many who have posted back and forth for years in this thread about the opening challenge above and w/ Carpe Diem now having 5 Naxos Volumes (not sure if more have been released?), which group is favored - attached are reviews of the first 3 Carpe Diem SQ recordings w/ comparison to the others - seems like a 'coin flip' for the reviewers?  Dave

[71 dB]

I think that the 2nd and 4th symphonies are terrific.

Two Symphonies I need to revisit. I believe I haven't listened to these in 15 years! 
( I have Valeri Polyansky on Chandos )

[Mirror Image]

String Works et al - Taneyev Quartet vs. Carpe Diem SQ?

Hi All - just coming around to re-listen to my Taneyev collection, have only a half dozen CDs (and would like to cull and add - have some duplications).  Present collection includes: 1) String Quartets, first 2 volumes w/ Carpe Diem; 2) Complete Quintets w/ the Taneyev Quartet; 3) Complete String Trios, own both the Belcanto Strings & the Leopold Trio - could cull out one; and 4) Piano Quintet & Trio w/ Repin (duplicated in other recordings owned). 

In perusing Amazon USA today, I saw that Northern Flowers is now offering a 10-disc box w/ the Taneyev Quartet at the great price!

SO, having many who have posted back and forth for years in this thread about the opening challenge above and w/ Carpe Diem now having 5 Naxos Volumes (not sure if more have been released?), which group is favored - attached are reviews of the first 3 Carpe Diem SQ recordings w/ comparison to the others - seems like a 'coin flip' for the reviewers?  Dave

A great price for that box set. I certainly have been considering it, Dave. I'm not really familiar with Taneyev's style. Some have called him the 'Russian Brahms' is that a far statement?

[Symphonic Addict]

He's like a Russian Brahms/Beethoven in my view. Music expertly crafted with certain academic stamp. The Piano Quintet in G minor is one of his several masterpieces.

[kyjo]

Re-listening to the thoroughly impressive 4th Symphony under Järvi (Chandos). My goodness, what a work!!! A masterpiece of supreme greatness. The 4 movements are so consistent, masterfully written and memorable, one of the most remarkable Russian symphonies of early 20th Century. A work that goes from dark to light with a majestic ending. Taneyev at the height of his powers.

Thoroughly agree! I have no idea why I wasn't too impressed by this symphony the first time I listened to it several years ago. I'm sure glad I revisited it recently! And I simply couldn't imagine a better recording than by Järvi and the Philharmonia on Chandos - the timpani player deserves special mention for his thunderous and commandingly prominent playing. And the accompanying Oresteia Overture is, if anything, even more magnificent. Truly a desert island disc!

[kyjo]

He's like a Russian Brahms/Beethoven in my view. Music expertly crafted with certain academic stamp. The Piano Quintet in G minor is one of his several masterpieces.

It's an apt comparison, but only up to a point I think. His greatest works, such as the Piano Quintet, Piano Quartet, 4th Symphony, and Oresteia Overture, are more harmonically advanced than most things Brahms and Beethoven wrote (to my ears), as well as being quite individual in style with their marriage of Russian and Germanic influences.

[SonicMan46]

A great price for that box set. I certainly have been considering it, Dave. I'm not really familiar with Taneyev's style. Some have called him the 'Russian Brahms' is that a far statement?

Hi John - well, that moniker was mentioned in one or several of the reviews in my previous attachment - found a different take HERE w/ the title: SERGEI TANEYEV: TCHAIKOVSKY'S HEIR OR THE RUSSIAN BACH?, since Taneyev was interested in counterpoint - personally, I would not use either comparison - but take a look at the link for some more insight on his style(s) and relationships w/ the Russian composer's of the times - he was quite a substantial presence and more than I had realized.  Dave

[71 dB]

I'm not really familiar with Taneyev's style.

Complexity is one term I'd use. Taneyev was an expert on counterpoint and his music is less accessible to the masses and that's one reason he is much less known than his teacher Tchaikovsky and pupil Rachmaninov.

[Mirror Image]

Thanks to all for your feedback!

[Symphonic Addict]

Thoroughly agree! I have no idea why I wasn't too impressed by this symphony the first time I listened to it several years ago. I'm sure glad I revisited it recently! And I simply couldn't imagine a better recording than by Järvi and the Philharmonia on Chandos - the timpani player deserves special mention for his thunderous and commandingly prominent playing. And the accompanying Oresteia Overture is, if anything, even more magnificent. Truly a desert island disc!

One of the best Taneyev CDs indeed.