Sergei Taneyev's String Trio in E flat Major dates from 1911. It was originally composed for Violin, Viola and Tenor Viola, an instrument pitched an octave lower than the violin, deeper than a viola but higher than a cello. From time to time, various composers would write a work which included the Tenor Viola, first built in 1848, but the instrument never caught on and these works were consigned to oblivion until and unless a cello part was created. In the case of this trio, a cello part was created in 1960 by Professor A. Ginzberg of Gnesin Academy of Music in Moscow. The well-known chamber music expert, Wilhelm Altmann, writing in his Chamber Music Handbook, describes the trio as follows:
“In the first movement, Allegro con brio, the composer's excellent compositional technique is already on display, particularly in the development of the appealing themes. The delightful Scherzino which follows is full of humor and high spirits and is sure to please. The slow movement, Adagio espressivo, is a warm and romantic lyrical song. The jolly finale, a Presto, is a fleet-footed affair that is extraordinarily effective and so written as to make it hard to believe that only three instruments are playing."
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.
This is a work every trio party will want to add to their library and repertoire, be they professional or amateur.
