Richard C. Alston
Anton Stepanovich Arensky
Centaur 2307
Centaur 2307
Richard C. Alston writes:
Good Morning Bill,
In
addition to performing piano compositions by composers of African
Descent I also enjoy discovering and performing rare 19th century
romantic piano compositions. Here is the final track from my CD Arensky
Piano Concerto in f minor and Etudes For Solo Piano. Jean-Marie van
Bronkhorst posted this on Youtube. He included the score so that the viewer can follow along. By the way,
Maestro Paul Freeman conducted the Czech National Orchestra in the
performance of the Piano Concerto. The CD is available for download at
Amazon.com
I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoy playing it!
.
Harmoniously,
Richard
Uploaded on Feb 5, 2010
Anton Stepanovich Arensky (Russian:
Антон Степанович Аренский) (12 July [O.S. 30 June] 1861 - 25 February
[O.S. 12 February] 1906), was a Russian composer, a pianist and a
professor of music.
Etude no. 3 from: 4 Pieces Op. 25
Richard Alston, piano
Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine. With his mother and father, he moved to Saint Petersburg in 1879, where he studied composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
After graduating from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1882, Arensky became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students there were Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Gretchaninov.
In 1895 Arensky returned to Saint Petersburg as the director of the Imperial Choir, a post for which he had been recommended by Mily Balakirev. Arensky retired from this position in 1901, spending his remaining time as a pianist, conductor, and composer.
Arensky died of tuberculosis in a sanatorium in Perkijarvi, Finland. It is alleged that drinking and gambling undermined his health.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky was the greatest influence on Arensky's musical compositions. Indeed, Rimsky-Korsakov said, "In his youth Arensky did not escape some influence from me; later the influence came from Tchaikovsky. He will quickly be forgotten." The perception that he lacked a distinctive personal style contributed to long-term neglect of his music, though in recent years a large number of his compositions have been recorded. Especially popular are the orchestral Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky based on one of Tchaikovsky's Songs for Children, Op. 54.
Arensky was perhaps at his best in chamber music, in which he wrote two string quartets, two piano trios, and a piano quintet.
Etude no. 3 from: 4 Pieces Op. 25
Richard Alston, piano
Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine. With his mother and father, he moved to Saint Petersburg in 1879, where he studied composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov.
After graduating from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1882, Arensky became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students there were Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Gretchaninov.
In 1895 Arensky returned to Saint Petersburg as the director of the Imperial Choir, a post for which he had been recommended by Mily Balakirev. Arensky retired from this position in 1901, spending his remaining time as a pianist, conductor, and composer.
Arensky died of tuberculosis in a sanatorium in Perkijarvi, Finland. It is alleged that drinking and gambling undermined his health.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky was the greatest influence on Arensky's musical compositions. Indeed, Rimsky-Korsakov said, "In his youth Arensky did not escape some influence from me; later the influence came from Tchaikovsky. He will quickly be forgotten." The perception that he lacked a distinctive personal style contributed to long-term neglect of his music, though in recent years a large number of his compositions have been recorded. Especially popular are the orchestral Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky based on one of Tchaikovsky's Songs for Children, Op. 54.
Arensky was perhaps at his best in chamber music, in which he wrote two string quartets, two piano trios, and a piano quintet.
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