String Quartet No. 8 in C major

Sergei Taneyev's String Quartet No.8 in C Major is the second of three string quartets he composed between 1880 and 1885 and before he wrote his String Quartet No.1. These three quartets, wonderful though they are, were never published during his lifetime. A score was published as part of a book of his unpublished works in 1952. Parts were made by a copyist from the score and circulated but neither the parts nor the score were ever commercially published until now. The opening Allegro con brio begins with a series of loud introductory chords followed by the main theme which is at the same time both elegant, energetic and full of forward drive. The second movement, Adagio ma non troppo, is deep and somber but not without several dramatic climaxes. Next comes a modern Mozartean Tempo di Minuetto. Taneyev's take on what his idol might have written had he been alive and abreast of developments in 1883. The finale, Allegro molto, is an exciting romp from start to finish.

Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) is one of the greatest Russian composers from the last half of the 19th and early 20th centuries and probably, from this group, the one whose music is the least known in the West. Taneyev came from an aristocratic family that patronized the arts and when Sergei's talent became apparent, his father sent him to the newly opened Moscow Conservatory at the age of 10. His main teachers there were Nicolai Rubinstein for piano and Tchaikovsky for composition. Although he became a brilliant pianist, Taneyev opted for a career as a composer and teacher and soon became a professor at the Conservatory. His fame both as a teacher and as a composer quickly spread. Among his many students were Glière, Rachmaninov, Gretchaninov, Scriabin and Medtner. In Russian concert halls, one always finds a bust of Taneyev alongside those of Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and Tchaikovsky. Sadly, the fame of this outstanding composer has not spread beyond his homeland. Influenced by Tchaikovsky, Taneyev preferred to write "pure" music rather than Russian-sounding or so-called "nationalistic" music based on Russian folk melodies. As such, he remained outside of the famous Nationalist School headed by Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and his music sounds markedly different from that of Rimsky and his famous students such as Borodin and Glazunov.

This is a magnificent work, in our opinion a masterpiece deserving of concert performance and the attention of amateurs. We are very proud to have made this work available and warmly recommend it to your attention.