Антон Аренский: Жизнь и творчество русского композитора

Russian composer, pianist and professor of music

Anton Stepanovich Arensky (Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; 12 July 1861 [O. S. 30 June 1861] – 25 February 1905 [O. S. 12 February 1905]) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music.

Arensky was born into an affluent, music loving family in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine. With his mother and father, he moved to Saint Petersburg in 1879, after which he studied composition at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory with Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov. After graduating from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 1882, Arensky became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory. Among his students there were Alexander Scriabin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Alexander Gretchaninov. In 1895, Arensky returned to Saint Petersburg as the director of the Imperial Choir, a post for which he had been recommended by Mily Balakirev. He retired from this position in 1901, living off a comfortable pension and spending his remaining time as a pianist, conductor, and composer. Arensky died of tuberculosis in a sanatorium in Perkjärvi, in what was then the Russian administered Grand Duchy of Finland, at the age of 44. While very little is known about his private life, Rimsky Korsakov alleges that drinking and gambling undermined his health. He was buried in the Tikhvin Cemetery. The Antarctic Arensky Glacier was named after him.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was the greatest influence on Arensky's musical compositions. Indeed, Rimsky Korsakov said, "In his youth, Arensky did not escape some influence from me; later, the influence came from Tchaikovsky. He will quickly be forgotten." The perception that he lacked a distinctive personal style contributed to long term neglect of his music, though in recent years, a large number of his compositions have been recorded. Especially popular are the Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovsky for string orchestra, Op. 35a arranged from the slow movement of Arensky's 2nd string quartet, and based on one of Tchaikovsky's Songs for Children, Op. 54. Arensky was, perhaps, at his best in the genre of chamber music, in which he wrote two string quartets, two piano trios, and a piano quintet.

Сон на Волге (Son na Volge / Dream on the Volga), Op. 16 (1888), libretto by Anton Arensky after Alexander Ostrovsky's play Voyevoda, premiere: January 2, 1891 [OS December 21, 1890], Moscow, Bolshoy Theatre
Рафаэль (Rafael / Raphael), Op. 37 (1894), libretto by A. Kryukov, premiere: May 6 [OS April 24], 1894, Moscow, Conservatory
Наль и Дамаянти (Nal' i Damayanti / Nal and Damayanti), Op. 47 (1903), after Indian epos "Mahabharata", libretto by Modest Ilyich Tchaikovsky after the novel by Vasily Zhukovsky, premiere: January 22, [OS January 9], 1904, Moscow, Bolshoy Theatre)

Egyptian Nights ([[:ru:Египетские ночи (балет)) a. k. a. Une Nuit d'Égypte or Nuits égyptiennes (1900). Divertissement Ballet in one act. Originally composed for the Imperial Ballet, St. Petersburg. Choreography by Lev Ivanov. Production was never given due to the death of the choreographer before completion. revival by Mikhail Fokine for the Imperial Ballet. Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, 8 March 1908 [O. S. 24 February 1908]. revival by Mikhail Fokine as Cléopâtre for the Ballets Russes. Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris, 2 June 1909. Additional music by Alexander Glazunov, Mikhail Glinka, Modest Mussorgsky, Nikolai Rimsky Korsakov, Sergei Taneyev, and Nikolai Tcherepnin.

Cantata for the Tenth Anniversary of the Sacred Coronation of Their Imperial Highnesses, Op. 25 (1893)
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai, Op. 46, cantata
Three Vocal Quartets, Op. 57, with cello accompaniment

The Diver, Op. 61, cantata

Romances (4), for voice and piano, Op. 17

Tempo di Valse from the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in A minor, Op.54, arranged for violin and piano by Jascha Heifetz