Arensky, Anton (Stepanovich)

Arensky, Anton (Stepanovich), Russian pianist, conductor, teacher, and composer; b. Novgorod, July 12, 1861; d. near Terioki, Finland, Feb. 25, 1906. He was a student of Johanssen and Rimsky–Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Cons. (1879–82). From 1882 to 1895 he taught theory and composition at the Moscow Cons. He also conducted concerts of the Russian Choral Soc. in Moscow. He was conductor of the Imperial Court Chapel Choir in St. Petersburg from 1895 to 1901, and then was a prof. at the St. Petersburg Cons. He also made tours as a pianist and conductor. His last days were made difficult by tuberculosis and alcoholism, and he eventually died in a Finnish sanatorium. His best known scores were his Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky for Strings, his 1^st Piano Trio, piano pieces, and songs.

Works

DRAMATIC: Opera : Son na Volge (A Dream on the Volga; Moscow, Jan. 2, 1891); Rafael’ (Moscow, May 6, 1894); Nal’ i Damayanti (Nal and Damayanti; Moscow, Jan. 22, 1904). ballet:Egyptian Nights (1900; St. Petersburg, March 21, 1908). Incidental Music: To Shakespeare’s The Tempest for Soloists, Chorus, and Orch. (1905). ORCH.: Piano Concerto (1882); Intermezzo for Strings (1882); 2 syms.: No. 1 (Moscow, Nov. 24, 1883, composer conducting) and No. 2 (Moscow, Dec. 21, 1889); Suite (1885); Violin Concerto (1891); Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky for Strings (1894); Fantasia on a Russian Folksong for Piano and Orch. (1899); marches. CHAMBER: 2 string quartets (1888, 1894); 2 piano trios (1895, 1905); Piano Quintet (1900); many piano pieces. VOCAL: Choral music and songs.

Bibliography

G. Tzypin, A. S. A. (Moscow, 1966).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

Arensky, Anton (Stepanovich) (b Novgorod, 1861; d Terijoki, Finland, 1906). Russ. composer. Prof. of harmony and counterpoint, Moscow Cons. 1882. Comp. 3 operas, 2 str. qts., and 2 syms., but best-known works are the pf. conc., vn. conc. in A minor, pf. trio in D minor (in memory of the cellist Davidov), Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky for str., and many pf. pieces.