Thomas Sanderling, Novosibirsk Academic Symphony Orchestra Taneyev: Symphonies Nos.1 & 3

A pupil of Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky, and a teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, Sergey Taneyev was a monumental figure in Russian music of the second half of the nineteenth century. Although highly independent as a mature artist, Taneyev was understandably under Tchaikovsky's influence during the early years of his career. His First Symphony, which can be compared to Tchaikovsky's Second, impresses with its seriousness, skilful orchestration, and a complete absence of virtuosity for its own sake. Written ten years later, the Third Symphony is a large four movement cycle. Its crowning glory, a scintillating Finale, shows Taneyev's contrapuntal prowess at it best.

A pupil of Rubinstein and Tchaikovsky, and a teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, Sergey Taneyev was a monumental figure in Russian music of the second half of the nineteenth century. Although highly independent as a mature artist, Taneyev was understandably under Tchaikovsky's influence during the early years of his career. His First Symphony, which can be compared to Tchaikovsky's Second, impresses with its seriousness, skilful orchestration, and a complete absence of virtuosity for its own sake. Written ten years later, the Third Symphony is a large four movement cycle. Its crowning glory, a scintillating Finale, shows Taneyev's contrapuntal prowess at it best.

Known to Tchaikovsky as the ‘Russian Brahms’ and to Rachmaninov as ‘a master composer [and] a pinnacle of musical Moscow’, Sergey Taneyev was one of the most highly regarded and influential musical figures of his time. His unfinished Symphony No. 2, begun while Taneyev was a student at the Moscow Conservatoire, was recognised by his teacher, Tchaikovsky, as a work of considerable promise. It is heard here in Vladimir Blok’s edition, first performed in 1977. Taneyev’s Symphony No. 4, composed twenty years later, is a large-scale masterpiece considered by many to be his finest orchestral work.

Known to Tchaikovsky as the ‘Russian Brahms’ and to Rachmaninov as ‘a master composer [and] a pinnacle of musical Moscow’, Sergey Taneyev was one of the most highly regarded and influential musical figures of his time. His unfinished Symphony No. 2, begun while Taneyev was a student at the Moscow Conservatoire, was recognised by his teacher, Tchaikovsky, as a work of considerable promise. It is heard here in Vladimir Blok’s edition, first performed in 1977. Taneyev’s Symphony No. 4, composed twenty years later, is a large-scale masterpiece considered by many to be his finest orchestral work.

Known to Tchaikovsky as the ‘Russian Brahms’ and to Rachmaninov as ‘a master composer [and] a pinnacle of musical Moscow’, Sergey Taneyev was one of the most highly regarded and influential musical figures of his time. His unfinished Symphony No. 2, begun while Taneyev was a student at the Moscow Conservatoire, was recognised by his teacher, Tchaikovsky, as a work of considerable promise. It is heard here in Vladimir Blok’s edition, first performed in 1977. Taneyev’s Symphony No. 4, composed twenty years later, is a large-scale masterpiece considered by many to be his finest orchestral work. Thomas Sanderling’s first disc in the Naxos Taneyev series (Symphonies Nos. 1 and 3 / 8.570336) was praised by The Guardian for its ‘strongly characterised performances’.