Three Suites

Abstract

Anton Stepanovich Arensky was one of the most lyrically gifted Russian composers of the nineteenth century. Today he is best remembered for his wonderful Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor, Op. 32 and the delightful Waltz from the two-piano suite, Opus 15. He also left his mark as professor of harmony and counterpoint at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students were Alexander Scriabin, Sergey Rachmaninov and Reinhold Gliere.

Anton Arensky was born in 1861 in Novgorod. His father, a doctor, was a good amateur cellist, and his mother an excellent pianist who gave him his first music lessons. By the age of nine, he had already composed some songs and piano pieces. When his family moved to St Petersburg his musical opportunities expanded. Arensky attended the St Petersburg Conservatory. He studied with Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and graduated with highest honours and the gold medal in 1882. Rimsky-Korsakov thought very highly of his gifted pupil and entrusted him with the preparation of the piano-vocal score of his opera The Snowmaiden. In 1882 Arensky was appointed professor at the Moscow Conservatory where he came in contact with Tchaikovsky and Taneyev. For many years Arensky was conductor of the Russian Choral Society and during the last years of his life he travelled widely conducting and playing the piano. He died of tuberculosis in Finland in 1906.