Sergei Taneyev's Tent of Twirbling Tones

[Karl Henning]

Report when you may, O snypsss.

[Cato]

Thanks to a snow day, I revisited all 4 of Taneyev's symphonies (Polyansky on CHANDOS with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra).

I mentioned elsewhere (March is Russian Symphony Month) that the notes for the CD with Symphonies I and III are rather insistent on letting us know the various things wrong with Taneyev, thereby preventing him from being a major composer.  This trashing attitude is also seen in the CD with Symphonies II and IV: "Unfolding against a single reiterated call, (the slow movement's main theme) is hardly memorable... The absence of fantastic scherzo, which every other Russian composer of the 19th century seems to have tapped successfully (gives way to) a stout and steaky finale..."

The annotator is "David Nice."  He also complains about Taneyev's orchestration, but does like the ending of the Fourth Symphony. 

I later cranked up the Overture and Entracte to Taneyev's opera The Oresteia.  That overture is proof enough that Taneyev was indeed a major composer!

[Brahmsian]

Thanks to a snow day, I revisited all 4 of Taneyev's symphonies (Polyansky on CHANDOS with the Russian State Symphony Orchestra).

I mentioned elsewhere (March is Russian Symphony Month) that the notes for the CD with Symphonies I and III are rather insistent on letting us know the various things wrong with Taneyev, thereby preventing him from being a major composer.  This trashing attitude is also seen in the CD with Symphonies II and IV: "Unfolding against a single reiterated call, (the slow movement's main theme) is hardly memorable... The absence of fantastic scherzo, which every other Russian composer of the 19th century seems to have tapped successfully (gives way to) a stout and steaky finale..."

The annotator is "David Nice."  He also complains about Taneyev's orchestration, but does like the ending of the Fourth Symphony. 

I later cranked up the Overture and Entracte to Taneyev's opera The Oresteia.  That overture is proof enough that Taneyev was indeed a major composer!

I concur, Cato! 

FWIW, when I first heard Symphonies 1 and 3, I wasn't very impressed, but I think it is that Chandos/Polyansky recording.    It made a greater, and favourable impact with Sanderling/Novosibirsk.

You'll find a bit of Taneyev poo-pooing even in some of the liner notes on the Taneyev SQ/Northern Flowers label.  Only slightly, but in some instances.  I think there is (or was a conspiracy) to keep Taneyev as a secret.     I'd say his name honestly belongs in the 'Mighty Ten' of all-time great Russian/former Soviet state composer.

[Mirror Image]

I think there is (or was a conspiracy) to keep Taneyev as a secret.   

This is how I feel about Delius. I think critics, scholars, and historians like to bash on composers who, while maybe not immediately appealing to their own ears, were different and had singular ideas about music in general.

Back to Taneyev, I just finished listening to his Oresteia Overture and I had forgotten what a damn fine work this is. I'm listening to Symphony No. 4 right now. Fantastic! Both performances are from the Jarvi/Philharmonia recording on Chandos.

[Brahmsian]

This is how I feel about Delius. I think critics, scholars, and historians like to bash on composers who, while maybe not immediately appealing to their own ears, were different and had singular ideas about music in general.

Back to Taneyev, I just finished listening to his Oresteia Overture and I had forgotten what a damn fine work this is. I'm listening to Symphony No. 4 right now. Fantastic! Both performances are from the Jarvi/Philharmonia recording on Chandos.

Thumbs up!    Yes, the Oresteia Overture is one of his finest orchestral works.  I wish there would be a modern recording of his full Oresteia opera.  I'm sure there will be someday!!

Hmm, I'll have to check out the Jarvi/Chandos recording for that one.  I'd say Symphony No. 4 is currently my favourite of Taneyev's.

I do promise at some point this year, I will explore some of Delius' music.  And I know exactly who to turn to for recommendations!! 

[Mirror Image]

Thumbs up!    Yes, the Oresteia Overture is one of his finest orchestral works.  I wish there would be a modern recording of his full Oresteia opera.  I'm sure there will be someday!!

Hmm, I'll have to check out the Jarvi/Chandos recording for that one.  I'd say Symphony No. 4 is currently my favourite of Taneyev's.

I do promise at some point this year, I will explore some of Delius' music.  And I know exactly who to turn to for recommendations!! 

Yeah, Ray. I'm really enjoying this Jarvi recording a lot. I have another one of his Taneyev recordings as well (the one with the violin and orchestra work Suite de Concert with Mordkovitch on violin). I can't wait to dig into more of his music.

I'll be happy to give you plenty of Delius recommendations when that time comes. Until then, enjoy the Taneyev!

[Brahmsian]

Yeah, Ray. I'm really enjoying this Jarvi recording a lot. I have another one of his Taneyev recordings as well (the one with the violin and orchestra work Suite de Concert with Mordkovitch on violin). I can't wait to dig into more of his music.

I'll be happy to give you plenty of Delius recommendations when that time comes. Until then, enjoy the Taneyev!

Does that recording include a Rimsky-Korsakov paired with it?  If so, I think I have heard it.  I don't yet have Taneyev's Suite de Concert.  I'll have to remedy this (although I have heard it, and thought it sounded splendid indeed!)

[Mirror Image]

Does that recording include a Rimsky-Korsakov paired with it?  If so, I think I have heard it.  I don't yet have Taneyev's Suite de Concert.  I'll have to remedy this (although I have heard it, and thought it sounded splendid indeed!)

Yeah, Ray it's paired with with a Rimsky-Korsakov work. The Suite de Concert is a beautiful work. It's been years since I've heard it.

[Cato]

While I think the performance of the Oresteia Overture on this CD is much too slow for the most part, the Adagio, the Overture on a Russian Theme, and the Canzona are highly recommended!

[asin]B0027DQHG4[/asin]

[Octave]

I later cranked up the Overture and Entracte to Taneyev's opera The Oresteia.  That overture is proof enough that Taneyev was indeed a major composer!

Hi Cato, which recording of the ORESTEIA Overture/Entracte were you referring to?  I'm sure it was mentioned shortly earlier in the thread, but I am surely repeatedly missing it.  A comment you made about the Naxos recording in a later post (just above) made me certain that that was not the one.

[Cato]

Hi Cato, which recording of the ORESTEIA Overture/Entracte were you referring to?  I'm sure it was mentioned shortly earlier in the thread, but I am surely repeatedly missing it.  A comment you made about the Naxos recording in a later post (just above) made me certain that that was not the one.

Hi Octave!

This is my preferred recording of the Oresteia excerpts:

[asin]B000053SLJ[/asin]

[Octave]

Cheers, Cato, I'll try it out.  I've heard not a note of Taneyev yet.

I'm also interested in the big Piano Quintet; I was planning on getting the COMPLETE QUINTETS on Northern Flowers (Taneyev Quartet et al), based on my last trawl through this thread.  If there's a stronger recommendation, I'd love to know about it.  I was under the impression that I might be better served skipping the famous quintet/trio disc w/Pletnev et al (DG) and getting that trio+ disc on Dutton and the string quartets and aforementioned quintets disc on Northern Flowers.  Too bad that label is a bit on the spendy side!

[Karl Henning]

Mm, that does look tasty, Cato!

[71 dB]

This is my preferred recording of the Oresteia excerpts:

[asin]B000053SLJ[/asin]

That's the first Taneyev disc I head some 10 years ago (borrowed it from a friend). It blew me away and I became a fan of Taneyev instantly! 

[Brian]

Hey Ray, out in July!

[Brahmsian]

Hey Ray, out in July!

Excellent, thanks Brian! 

[Karl Henning]

Twirble on!

[Cato]

The first American performance of the complete Oresteia is scheduled for this summer at the Bard SummerScape Festival outside New York City:  Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra.

From a press release:

Taneyev's crowning achievement is undoubtedly his opera Oresteia (1887–94), which Stravinsky admired. Defying Russian operatic tradition, Taneyev turned to Greek antiquity, basing his libretto on Aeschylus's trilogy of dramas – Agamemnon, Choephori, and Eumenides – that chronicles the calamities befalling the accursed House of Atreus: the return of Agamemnon from the Trojan War, his murder, and his son Orestes's retribution on Clytemnestra and her lover Aegisthus. Rimsky-Korsakov considered Oresteia "striking in its wealth of beauty and expressiveness"; as Telegraph critic and Russian music expert Geoffrey Norris observes:

"It is highly original. ... The music speaks with a strong individual voice; the classical subject made the work stand out at a time when Russian plots were de rigueur; and Taneyev shows genuine dramatic skill in bringing Aeschylus to the operatic stage."

Yet since its 1895 premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre, the opera has only rarely been performed in its entirety, even in concert form. Indeed, Bard's upcoming production represents the first time the complete opera will ever have been fully staged outside Russia. Returning to direct it is Thaddeus Strassberger, whose previous SummerScape opera productions are among Bard's most resounding success stories. Of his way with Meyerbeer, the Financial Times declared: "Les Huguenots in Bard's staging is a thriller from beginning to end. ... Five Stars." Similarly, of Schreker's The Distant Sound, the Wall Street Journal observed: "Strassberger's engrossing production reflected the experimental nature of the opera by seamlessly integrating period films and giving the show a modernist, distancing aura," while New York magazine named it one of the "Top Ten Classical Music Events of 2010." (As for last season's treatment of Chabrier's The King in Spite of Himself, this inspired a spate of positive press, as detailed further below.)

For the new production of Oresteia, Strassberger had his design team take inspiration from late 19th-century St. Petersburg...

See:

http://www.21cmediagroup.com/mediacenter/newsitem.php?i=1186



See:

http://fishercenter.bard.edu/calendar/event.php?eid=117644

[Brahmsian]

The first American performance of the complete Oresteia is scheduled for this summer at the Bard SummerScape Festival outside New York City:  Leon Botstein and the American Symphony Orchestra.

That is excellent news, Cato!

[Cato]

That is excellent news, Cato!

Yes!  Unfortunately, family plans and school preparations will prevent us from going, even though we are only about two states away.

And so is any company planning on recording the performance?  Some orchestras offer in-house CD's...