Serge Tanejew: Streichtrios on CD

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‘He is the greatest master of counterpoint in Russia; I am not even sure there is his equal in the West’, was Tchaikovsky’s verdict on his protégé, champion and friend Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev. Director of music at the Moscow Conservatory from 1885, Taneyev was a uniquely important figure in Russian musical history, a master of counterpoint who disliked the Nationalist school and instead cultivated a distinctive style that transcended national genres.

Taneyev’s works for string trio demonstrate among other things his great contrapuntal abilities. His excursions into this genre were perhaps the first by a Russian composer; certainly the first of such high quality.

The Leopold String Trio is firmly established at the forefront of the international chamber music scene and received the 2005 Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Ensemble Award: ‘Through the sheer brilliance and maturity of their playing, their collaborations with other outstanding performers, and their enterprise and imagination in programming, commissioning and touring, the Leopold String Trio have shown uncompromising dedication to an other-wise neglected genre, and advocacy for the richness of chamber music as a whole.’

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'There is … an individual creative spark, urgency and textural richness that the Leopolds communicate with sensitivity and terrific panache' (Daily Telegraph)

'Star pupil of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov's mentor, Taneyev was also a fine composer, as witness these enchanting, beguilingly performed gems' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Listening to the three trios that the Leopold String Trio present with such commitment and persuasiveness leaves no doubt as to Taneyev's contrapuntal ingenuity and resource … Excellent recorded sound makes this a rewarding issue in every way' (BBC Music Magazine)

'The competition isn't quite up to their level… the Leopold String Trio versions are, to my ear, as good as it gets' (Fanfare, USA)