Anton Arensky

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Biography

Born: July 12, 1861; Novgorod, Russia   Died: February 25, 1906; Terioki, Russia  
Little known today, Anton Arensky was one of the brightest stars of the late nineteenth century Russian music scene. Arensky was born in 1861 to a pair of devoted amateur musicians under whose guidance he began his training. After private studies (piano and composition) with Zikke in St. Petersburg, Arensky entered that city's conservatory in 1879, taking lessons from Rimsky-Korsakov. He scored consistently high marks with conservatory faculty Read more during his three years as a student, eventually graduating with a gold medal; upon the completion of his studies in 1882 Arensky became one of the youngest professors ever hired by the Moscow Conservatory.

Arensky's years at Moscow were fruitful; between 1882 and his resignation from the Conservatory's faculty in 1895 he completed most of his larger works (including the early Piano Concerto of 1882 and both Symphonies: B minor 1883; A major 1889). In 1891 his first opera, Son na Volge (A Dream on the Volga) -- which he had worked on intermittently since his student days -- was successfully premiered in Moscow. His next operatic endeavor, however, fared rather worse than the first; Rafael was an immediate failure at its 1894 premiere.

Asked to replace Balakirev as director of the imperial chapel in St. Petersburg, Arensky returned to his home city in 1895; save for occasional national and international tours, he remained there for the rest of his life. By the mid-1890s Arensky's somewhat diminished stature as a composer was replaced by an increased public awareness of his gifts at the keyboard and on the podium. Having served as director of the Russian Choral Society (1888 to 1895) during his Moscow days, Arensky was no stranger to the baton, and in 1901 he resigned his position at the imperial chapel to pursue a fuller schedule of conducting and performing appearances. Death came prematurely in 1905 when Arensky, after decades of hard living and overindulgence, succumbed to tuberculosis.

Save for the well-known Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky for string orchestra, little of Arensky's substantial output has maintained a place on contemporary concert programs. He was essentially a miniaturist, and his finest music is to be found in the shorter works for solo piano and his melodious songs (which seem to have influenced Rachmaninov's conception of Russian song). Arensky's style, especially in such early works as the Piano Concerto and First Symphony, is too inconsistent to bear witness to a strong musical personality, and instead presents as a pastiche of stylistic traits borrowed from a variety of influences, such as Chopin and Tchaikovsky (though rarely Arensky's own teacher Rimsky-Korsakov). However, his influence as a teacher -- to such future luminaries as Rachmaninov and Scriabin -- has earned him a place of distinction in the history of Russian music. Read less

Featured Anton Arensky CDs & DVDs:

Arensky: Violin Concerto; Glazunov / Turovsky, Et Al
Arensky: Violin Concerto; Glazunov / Turovsky, Et Al
Release Date: 02/18/1997   Label: Chandos  
Catalog: 9528   Number of Discs: 1
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Arensky: Symphony No 1, Etc / Polyansky, Russian State So
Arensky: Symphony No 1, Etc / Polyansky, Russian State So
Release Date: 07/22/2003   Label: Chandos  
Catalog: 10086   Number of Discs: 1
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Arensky: Piano Trios No 1 & 2 / The Borodin Trio
Arensky: Piano Trios No 1 & 2 / The Borodin Trio
Release Date: 04/27/2004   Label: Chandos  
Catalog: 10184   Number of Discs: 1
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Browse 51-75 of 125 Available Recordings
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  • 51.
    Leonid Sobinow - Recordings 1901-1911
    Leonid Sobinow - Recordings 1901-1911
    Label: Hafg   Catalog: 10234 Release Date: 07/23/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  César Cui,  Alexander Borodin,  Anton Rubinstein,  Alexander Grechaninov  ... 
    Performer:  Leonid Sobinov,  Antonina Neshdanova
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  • 52.
    Arensky: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2; Suites; Overtures / Svetlanov
    Arensky: Symphonies Nos 1 & 2; Suites; Overtures / Svetlanov
    Label: Warner Classics   Catalog: 4643782 Release Date: 05/14/2007   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Anton Arensky
    Conductor:  Yevgeny Svetlanov
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Russian State Symphony Orchestra
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  • 53.
    Russian Miniatures - Works By Glinka, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov
    Russian Miniatures - Works By Glinka, Glazunov, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov
    Label: Membran / Scandinavian Classics   Catalog: 220581 Release Date: 04/26/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Alexander Glazunov,  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Alexander Scriabin,  Dmitri Shostakovich  ... 
    Performer:  Sergei Azizian,  Elena Semishina,  Alice Norregaard
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  • 54.
    Greats Of The Gramophone, Vol. 1
    Label: Naxos Nostalgia   Catalog: 911659 Release Date: 02/13/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Jacob Gade,  Frédéric Chopin,  Ruggero Leoncavallo,  Henry Bishop  ... 
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  • 55.
    Live From El Paso Pro Musica - Arensky, Dohnányi / Harrell
    Live From El Paso Pro Musica - Arensky, Dohnányi / Harrell
    Label: Delos   Catalog: 1040 Release Date: 02/06/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Ernö von Dohnányi,  Anton Arensky
    Performer:  Zuill Bailey,  Kirsten Johnson,  Giora Schmidt,  Soovin Kim  ... 
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  • 56.
    Shostakovich, Arensky: Piano Trios / Claremont Trio
    Shostakovich, Arensky: Piano Trios / Claremont Trio
    Label: Tria Records   Catalog: 5637251483 Release Date: 01/16/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Dmitri Shostakovich
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Claremont Trio
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  • 57.
    Tchaikovsky, etc: Trios / Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
    Tchaikovsky, etc: Trios / Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
    Label: Koch International Classics   Catalog: 7731 Release Date: 01/16/2007   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer:  Joseph Kalichstein,  Jaime Laredo,  Sharon Robinson
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio
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  • 58.
    Prima Voce - Nina Koshetz
    Prima Voce - Nina Koshetz
    Label: Nimbus   Catalog: 7935 Release Date: 01/09/2007   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Alexander Borodin,  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,  Maurice Ravel,  Traditional  ... 
    Performer:  Nina Koshetz
    Conductor:  Bruno Reibold
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  • 59.
    Ultimate Piano Classics - The Essential Masterpieces
    Ultimate Piano Classics - The Essential Masterpieces
    Label: Decca   Catalog: 000766402 Release Date: 11/14/2006   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Frédéric Chopin,  Franz Liszt,  Johann Sebastian Bach,  Felix Mendelssohn  ... 
    Performer:  Vladimir Ashkenazy,  Rhondda Gillespie,  Julius Katchen,  András Schiff  ... 
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  • 60.
    A Celebration of Duo-Piano Music / Forte, Parkinson
    A Celebration of Duo-Piano Music / Forte, Parkinson
    Label: Roméo Records   Catalog: 7252 Release Date: 07/25/2006   Number of Discs: 3
    Composer:  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Francis Poulenc,  Maurice Ravel,  Claude Debussy  ... 
    Performer:  Madeleine Forte,  Del Parkinson
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  • 61.
    Arensky, Korngold / Escher Trio
    Arensky, Korngold / Escher Trio
    Label: Challenge   Catalog: 72407 Release Date: 07/11/2006   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Erich Wolfgang Korngold
    Performer:  Jeroen Bal,  Sonja Van Beek,  Johan van Iersel
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Escher Trio
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  • 62.
    Tchaikovsky, Arensky: Piano Concertos / Blumental, Et Al
    Tchaikovsky, Arensky: Piano Concertos / Blumental, Et Al
    Label: Brana Records   Catalog: 13 Release Date: 05/30/2006   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer:  Felicja Blumental
    Conductor:  Jiri Waldhans,  Michael Gielen
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Brno State Philharmonic Orchestra,  Vienna Musikgesellschaft Orchestra
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  • 63.
    Gemini - Violin Encores / Itzhak Perlman
    Gemini - Violin Encores / Itzhak Perlman
    Label: Emi Classics   Catalog: 76957 Release Date: 02/21/2006   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Jean-Philippe Rameau,  Maurice Ravel,  Pablo de Sarasate,  Ernesto Halffter  ... 
    Performer:  Samuel Sanders,  Itzhak Perlman
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  • 64.
    Vocalise - Russian Romances - Glinka, Etc / Maisky, Gililov
    Vocalise - Russian Romances - Glinka, Etc / Maisky, Gililov
    Label: Deutsche Grammophon   Catalog: 000583102 Release Date: 02/14/2006   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Mikhail Glinka,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Alexander Dargomizhsky,  Modest Mussorgsky  ... 
    Performer:  Mischa Maisky,  Pavel Gililov
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  • 65.
    Daniil Shtoda - Tenor
    Daniil Shtoda - Tenor
    Label: Delos   Catalog: 3348 Release Date: 09/20/2005   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov,  Alexander Grechaninov,  Antonio Spadavecchia,  Eduard Nápravník  ... 
    Performer:  Daniil Shtoda,  Elena Tsvetkova
    Conductor:  Constantine Orbelian
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  • 66.
    Tschaikowsky-variationen - Tchaikovsky, Arensky / Geringas
    Tschaikowsky-variationen - Tchaikovsky, Arensky / Geringas
    Label: Ebs   Catalog: 6123 Release Date: 05/31/2005   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky
    Performer:  David Geringas
    Conductor:  David Geringas
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Pforzheim Southwest German Chamber Orchestra
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  • 67.
    Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, Glazunov / Barbirolli, Svetlanov
    Rimsky-Korsakov, Arensky, Glazunov / Barbirolli, Svetlanov
    Label: Emi Classics Double Fforte   Catalog: 964835 Release Date: 03/01/2005   Number of Discs: 2
    Composer:  Alexander Glazunov,  Anton Arensky,  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
    Conductor:  Yevgeny Svetlanov,  Sir John Barbirolli
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Philharmonia Orchestra,  London Symphony Orchestra
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  • 68.
    The Russian Legacy - Zara Dolukhanova
    The Russian Legacy - Zara Dolukhanova
    Label: Guild   Catalog: 2281/84 Release Date: 01/25/2005   Number of Discs: 4
    Composer:  Alexander Dargomizhsky,  Gioachino Rossini,  Sergei Rachmaninov,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky  ... 
    Performer:  Zara Dolukhanova,  Berta Kozel,  Nadezhda Kazantseva,  Anton Ossipovich Bernard  ... 
    Conductor:  Leonid Piatigorsky,  Samuel Samosud,  Alexander Kovalev,  Rudolf Barshai
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra,  Moscow Chamber Orchestra
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  • 69.
    Jeux D'enfants / Amy And Sara Hamann
    Jeux D'enfants / Amy And Sara Hamann
    Label: Cd Baby   Catalog: 5637318080 Release Date: 01/04/2005   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Witold Lutoslawski,  Anton Arensky,  Georges Bizet,  Franz Liszt  ... 
    Performer:  Amy Hamann,  Sara Hamann
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  • 70.
    Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No 1-6, Etc / Antal Dorati, Et Al
    Tchaikovsky: Symphonies No 1-6, Etc / Antal Dorati, Et Al
    Label: Mercury Living Presence   Catalog: 000337402 Release Date: 11/09/2004   Number of Discs: 5
    Composer:  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Anton Arensky,  Alexander Borodin
    Conductor:  Antal Doráti
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  London Symphony Orchestra,  Philharmonia Hungarica,  Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra
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  • 71.
    Arensky: Raffaello; Et Al / Domashenko, Orbelian, Et Al
    Arensky: Raffaello; Et Al / Domashenko, Orbelian, Et Al
    Label: Delos   Catalog: 3319 Release Date: 10/05/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky
    Performer:  Marina Domashenko,  Alexander Vinogradov,  Tatjana Pavlova,  Vsevolod Grivnov
    Conductor:  Constantine Orbelian
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Spiritual Revival Choir of Moscow,  Philharmonia of Russia
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  • 72.
    Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - Harbison, Arensky, Schnittke / Orion Quartet
    Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival - Harbison, Arensky, Schnittke / Orion Quartet
    Label: Koch International Classics   Catalog: 7551 Release Date: 09/21/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  John Harbison,  Alfred Schnittke
    Performer:  Eric Kim,  Tim Eddy,  Alexander Kerr,  Kirsten Johnson  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Orion String Quartet
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  • 73.
    The Romantic Piano Trio
    The Romantic Piano Trio
    Label: Beryllium Records   Catalog: 5637422494 Release Date: 08/31/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky,  Paul Schoenfield,  Ludwig van Beethoven,  Robert Schumann  ... 
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  THE ORION MUSIC ENSEMBLE
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  • 74.
    Arensky: Piano Trios No 1 & 2 / The Borodin Trio
    Arensky: Piano Trios No 1 & 2 / The Borodin Trio
    Label: Chandos   Catalog: 10184 Release Date: 04/27/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Anton Arensky
    Orchestra/Ensemble:  Borodin Trio
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  • 75.
    William Primrose - The Early Recordings - Violin And Viola
    William Primrose - The Early Recordings - Violin And Viola
    Label: Pearl   Catalog: 207 Release Date: 02/24/2004   Number of Discs: 1
    Composer:  Franz Schubert,  Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,  Niccolò Paganini,  Henry Purcell  ... 
    Performer:  Sidonie Goossens,  William Primrose,  Gerald Moore,  Ambrose Gauntlett  ... 
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