Alexander Taneyev

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Alexander Sergeievich Taneyev (Russian: Сергей Александрович Танеев)(January 17, 1850 – February 7, 1918) was a Russian composer of the late Romantic era, specifically of the nationalist school. Among his best works were three string quartets, believed to be composed by him between 1898-1900.

The name Taneyev (spelled several different ways including Taneiev, Tanaiev, Taneieff, and Taneyeff in English due to the difficulty of transliterating the Cyrillic alphabet) is not well known outside of Russia. Many of his works are associated with his distant cousin Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915), sometimes known as the “Russian Brahms” due to similarities in the complexity and intricateness of their compositions.

Alexander Taneyev inherited an enthusiasm for music from his parents. He was dissuaded from pursuing a career as a professional musician due to his position in the Russian upper class. After studying at university, he entered the Russian civil service, succeeding his father as Director of the Imperial Chancellery. After 1900 he was the head of the folksong collection project of the Russian Geographical Society. Several of the songs collected during this period were later arranged and published by Anatoly Lyadov.

Taneyev pursued musical studies in Germany and later in Petersburg, where he became a student of Rimsky Korsakov. Taneyev's situation at this time bore similarities with that of fellow composer Alexander Borodin. Both were composers whose main occupation was not that of musician (Borodin was a chemistry professor; Taneyev held a bureaucratic post). It was rumored that Taneyev kept a score that he was working on hidden beneath official documents so that he might pen a few notes between appointments.

Taneyev's output as a composer was large. He wrote two operas, three symphonies, several pieces for orchestra, numerous choral works, and a considerable amount of chamber music including three string quartets written between 1898 and 1900. The influence of the other Russian nationalist composers, such as Rimsky-Korsakov, Balakirev, and Lyadov, on his work is often noted.

[edit] Selected works

Valse-caprice in A-flat major
Valse-caprice in D-flat major
Suite No. 2 in F major, Op. 14

Theme with Variations
Menuetto. Tranquillo
Andantino
Finale. Allegro con spirito

Symphony No. 2 in B-flat minor, Op. 21

Andante - Allegro
Scherzo
Adagio mosso
Finale. Allegro vivacissimo

String Quartet No. 1 in G major, Op. 25
String Quartet No. 2 in C major, Op. 28
String Quartet No. 3 in A major, Op. 30

[edit] References

Edward Garden: "Aleksandr Taneyev", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed May 21, 2005), (subscription access)
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