"Taneyev's String Trio for 2 Violins and Viola is splendid house music in the best sense of the word, but it also deserves a place in the concert hall where it will please."--the esteemed chamber music expert Wilhelm Altmann, writing in his Chamber Music Handbook.
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 Gliere, 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.
Altmann describes the Trio as follows:
"This trio is in no way difficult to play and certainly is an important addition to the scanty literature for this combination. In the first two movements, the spirit of Mozart, albeit in an updated guise, is present. The opening movement, Allegro giocoso is bright and sunny throughout. The second movement, Menuetto, is a late Romantic version of a baroque dance. The third movement, Andante, is a heart-felt romance. The finale, though fleet and jocular, is also lyrical and dramatic."
