Anton ARENSKY (1861-1906)
Piano Quintet in D major, Op. 51 (1900) [23.50]
String Quartet No. 2 in A minor, Op. 35 (1894) [28.26]
Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 (1894) [27.43]
Spectrum Concerts Berlin
rec. live, 25 April 2014, Kammermusiksaal, Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany
NAXOS 8.573317 [80.00]
This Naxos release comprises around half of Anton Arensky’s
chamber music output. A consistently underrated composer, falling in the generation
between Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov, Arensky died at the relatively young
age of forty-four. Born in 1861 at Novgorod Arensky entered the St. Petersburg
Conservatoire and studied composition with Rimsky-Korsakov. Aged only twenty-one
he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatoire most notably teaching Scriabin,
Rachmaninov and Gretchaninov. It was at the Moscow Conservatoire that Arensky
became closely associated and greatly influenced by Tchaikovsky and also with
Taneyev. Rimsky-Korsakov remarked, “In his youth Arensky did not escape
some influence from me; later the influence came from Tchaikovsky.”
Rosa Newmarch biographer to both Tchaikovsky and Arensky wrote, “Both
in style and temperament Arensky shows considerable affinity to Tchaikovsky.”
The four movement Piano Quintet in D major, Op. 51 from 1900 is contemporaneous
with Arensky own divertissement-ballet in one act Egyptian Nights
(review).
Taneyev’s Piano Quintet (Op. 30, 1909/11) had yet to be written but
Arensky would certainly have known examples of the piano quintet from the
Austro/German repertoire. Spectrum Concerts Berlin responds with gripping
vivacity to a score of considerable contrasts. Especially enjoyable is the
Scherzo: Allegro Vivace which is played with an appealing
buoyancy that suits its Mendelssohnian character.
Written in 1894 the three movement String Quartet No. 2 in A minor
uses a pair of cellos rather than the usual pair of violins. Arensky dedicated
it to Tchaikovsky who had died the year before. Given its association with
grief and bereavement it is not surprising that this score charts a landscape
of profound melancholy. Spectrum Concerts Berlin fully recognise this and
impart a dark and sombre quality which is, especially telling in the opening
Moderato.
From the same year as the Second String Quartet the Piano Trio
No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 is dedicated to the memory of Karl Davidoff,
director of the St. Petersburg Conservatoire during Arensky’s time there
as a student. Davidoff was a renowned cellist and predictably Arensky ensures
the score contains a prominent cello part. This is undoubtedly my favourite
Arensky chamber score. I especially relish here the playing of the opening
Allegro moderato with its melting lyricism and the insatiable spirit
of the Scherzo, a sparkling waltz.
Displaying unforced technical command and lots of detail these are consistently
engaging performances that make a strong case for these scores. Nevertheless,
well worth hearing is the outstanding 2012 Berlin account of Arensky’s
masterpiece the Piano Trio No. 1 played by the Trio Wanderer on Harmonia
Mundi (review).
The engineering team here have produced cool and clear sound, closely recorded
with a balance that slightly favours the piano. This is a live recording but
I could detect no extraneous noise and any audience applause has been removed.
The excellence of this album makes it a match for any release of Russian chamber
music I have heard for some time.
Michael Cookson
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