ARENSKY – Romance, Op.65 No.6 – FOUR CELLOS

Other Identification:
The Russian composer, conductor and pianist Anton Arensky was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov at St Petersburg Conservatory and later taught at the Conservatory in Moscow, where his pupils included Rachmaninov and Scriabin. His compositions often reflect the influence of other composers, more particularly that of Tchaikovsky. He was musical director of the Imperial Chapel in St Petersburg from 1895 until 1901, and thereafter he continued his career as composer, pianist and conductor, travelling widely in the last two capacities.

Arensky wrote two symphonies and a violin concerto, as well as a set of variations for strings on a theme by Tchaikovsky, a work originally for string quartet.

Anton Arensky’s Children’s Suite, Op. 65 is a collection of eight pieces for two pianos, all written in canon form, composed in the late 1890s. The suite is considered to be at an early advanced level and is a notable example of romantic duo-piano literature.

Nowadays piano-duo concerts occur relatively frequently and are fully appreciated as part of the usual music-making environment. However, in Russia at the turn of the century this was hardly the case, despite the occasional foray into the piano-duo medium by Anton Rubenstein and a few others. This music is accessible to early advanced pianists. It generated considerable interest at the time and is considered a model of its kind.

The collection was dedicated to Paul Pabst, a pianist and professor at the Moscow Conservatory.