Both Anton Arensky and Sergey Taneyev belong to the generation of Russian composers who came to prominence at the end of the 19th century, midway...

Both Anton Arensky and Sergey Taneyev belong to the generation of Russian composers who came to prominence at the end of the 19th century, midway between Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov. With its expansive themes and wonderfully elegiac mood, Arensky’s Piano Trio No. 1 is dedicated to the memory of cellist Karl Davydov. The subtle use of counterpoint in Taneyev’s Piano Trio in D major reveals his expertise in combining earlier techniques with the emphatically Romantic style that both composers inherited from Tchaikovsky. These two masterpieces summarize the development of the piano trio genre in Russian music of the 19thcentury, and subsequently laid the foundations for its further evolution.

REVIEW:

These three Russian virtuosos present the two trios with equal conviction, summoning up different palettes of colours for some truly high-level music-making. In the Arensky, their natural, speech-like delivery of the melody and their flexible rubato tug irresistibly at the heartstrings. In the Taneyev, they play with great seriousness of purpose, and also rise to the occasion when the composer steps outside his normal boundaries in the ferocious Scherzo—perhaps a reflection of the violence that overtook Russia in the Revolution of 1905.

– Gramophone (Editor's Choice;10/21)