Taneyev: Complete String Quartets Vol 1: Nos. 1 & 3

"A fascinating disc. The music of Sergei Taneyev is fully worthy of investigation. A reputation for academicism has dogged this composer so that over time his works have been completely overshadowed. He is much better known for being the teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin than for any works of his own."
(MusicWeb March 2008)

A pupil of Tchaikovsky, whom he replaced at the Moscow Conservatory, Sergey Taneyev was a virtuoso pianist and a teacher of Scriabin and Rachmaninov. Although as a composer Taneyev is best known today for his four symphonies, he also composed a sizeable body of chamber music, including six String Quartets. These beautifully crafted works are marked by technical assurance at every turn, as well as dramatic inspiration and intense lyricism. The masterly five-movement Quartet No. 1, in fact Taneyev's Fifth, includes two notable slow movements, while the lighter Quartet No. 3 features a graceful theme with eight variations, alternately playful and contemplative.