![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drplaceboIt's Forgotten Masterpiece Friday!
As influential as he eventually was in Russian musical circles, Anton Arensky (1861-1906) stayed surprisingly anonymous. He was apparently held in fairly low regard as a composer -- Arensky's composition teacher Rimsky-Korsakov even predicted in his autobiography that his student would "soon be forgotten." Arensky indeed fell into obscurity, yet he was a mentor to Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Glière. In addition, at a time when Tchaikovsky was a celebrity abroad but seen in Russia as too "Westernized" in style, Arensky in his capacity as a conductor contributed greatly to establishing Tchaikovsky's reputation at home as a truly Russian composer.
Arensky's second string quartet is rarely played, but has some notoriety among chamber musicians for its unusual instrumentation, and probably both facts are the result of the exact same feature. This quartet was composed between 1893 and 1895, shortly after Tchaikovsky's death, and dedicated to Tchaikovsky's memory. Perhaps because of its role as a quasi-requiem, Arensky chose to create a darker sonority by scoring the piece for one violin, one viola, and two celli. The first movement begins and ends with something like a Russian Orthodox funeral chant; in between, other themes seem to act as eulogies or reminiscences of Arensky's deceased friend. The second movement is the most direct tribute, a set of variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky that finally concludes with a quiet reprisal of the funeral chant. The third and final movement may also be something of a homage: much in Tchaikovsky's vein, much of it is derived from a Russian folk song. The movement begins with a short, somber introduction, but quickly launches into a fugue on the song, and develops it in the virtuosic manner that was a hallmark of many of Tchaikovsky's finales.
Movements:
I. Moderato
II. Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (11:51)
III. Finale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato (25:09)
As influential as he eventually was in Russian musical circles, Anton Arensky (1861-1906) stayed surprisingly anonymous. He was apparently held in fairly low regard as a composer -- Arensky's composition teacher Rimsky-Korsakov even predicted in his autobiography that his student would "soon be forgotten." Arensky indeed fell into obscurity, yet he was a mentor to Rachmaninoff, Scriabin, and Glière. In addition, at a time when Tchaikovsky was a celebrity abroad but seen in Russia as too "Westernized" in style, Arensky in his capacity as a conductor contributed greatly to establishing Tchaikovsky's reputation at home as a truly Russian composer.
Arensky's second string quartet is rarely played, but has some notoriety among chamber musicians for its unusual instrumentation, and probably both facts are the result of the exact same feature. This quartet was composed between 1893 and 1895, shortly after Tchaikovsky's death, and dedicated to Tchaikovsky's memory. Perhaps because of its role as a quasi-requiem, Arensky chose to create a darker sonority by scoring the piece for one violin, one viola, and two celli. The first movement begins and ends with something like a Russian Orthodox funeral chant; in between, other themes seem to act as eulogies or reminiscences of Arensky's deceased friend. The second movement is the most direct tribute, a set of variations on a theme by Tchaikovsky that finally concludes with a quiet reprisal of the funeral chant. The third and final movement may also be something of a homage: much in Tchaikovsky's vein, much of it is derived from a Russian folk song. The movement begins with a short, somber introduction, but quickly launches into a fugue on the song, and develops it in the virtuosic manner that was a hallmark of many of Tchaikovsky's finales.
Movements:
I. Moderato
II. Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky (11:51)
III. Finale: Andante sostenuto - Allegro moderato (25:09)