Memorial to Anton Arensky

Anton Arensky was a Composer, Pianist, Conductor, born in Novgorod, Russia, he was the son of amateur musicians who encouraged him to pursue that art as a career. In 1879 the family moved to St. Petersburg so he could study with Rimsky-Korsakov at its conservatory; he graduated with a gold medal in 1882 and was immediately hired as a professor at the Moscow Conservatory, where he was the youngest member of the faculty. His students would include Sergei Rachmaninov and Alexander Scriabin. Arensky was conductor of Moscow's Russian Choral Society (1888 to 1895) and director of the Imperial Chapel in St. Petersburg (1895 to 1901), before devoting himself to touring as a pianist and conductor. He died of tuberculosis at 44, the consequences of a dissolute lifestyle. Arensky has been consigned to minor status because of his perceived lack of a strong individual style. He was essentially a miniaturist with a gift for beguiling melody, and there are flaws in all his larger compositions. Towards the end he was better known as a concert performer and his once-popular music was disparaged. Rimsky-Korsakov offered a cruel eulogy: In his youth Arensky did not escape some influence from me; later the influence came from Tchaikovsky. He will quickly be forgotten. This was true for decades, but since the 1980s there has been renewed interest in his work that continues to this day. His Variations on a Theme of Tchaikovksy for string orchestra (1894) and the Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor (1894) have found their way into the standard repertory, and much of his output has been recorded. Arensky's other opuses include a Piano Concerto (1881), two symphonies (1883, 1889), a Violin Concerto (1891), two string quartets and several suites for solo piano, notably the Suite No. 2, Silhouettes (1892).安东·阿伦斯基（Anton Arensky）是作曲家、钢琴家与指挥家，出生于俄罗斯诺夫哥罗德。其父母均为业余音乐爱好者，鼓励他以音乐作为毕生职业。1879年，全家迁居圣彼得堡，以便他能在当地音乐学院跟随里姆斯基-科萨科夫（Rimsky-Korsakov）深造；1882年他以金牌成绩毕业，随即受聘为莫斯科音乐学院教授，是当时该院最年轻的教员。他的学生包括谢尔盖·拉赫玛尼诺夫（Sergei Rachmaninov）与亚历山大·斯克里亚宾（Alexander Scriabin）。1888年至1895年，阿伦斯基担任莫斯科俄罗斯合唱协会指挥；1895年至1901年出任圣彼得堡皇家教堂总监，此后便全身心投入钢琴与指挥巡演事业。他年仅44岁便因肺结核离世，放荡不羁的生活方式被认为是病情恶化的诱因。由于被认为缺乏鲜明的个人风格，阿伦斯基长期被归为二流作曲家。本质上，他是一位擅长打造迷人旋律的微型作曲家，但其所有大型作品均存在瑕疵。晚年他更多以音乐会演奏家的身份为人熟知，曾风靡一时的作品也饱受诟病。里姆斯基-科萨科夫曾留下一段尖刻的悼词："阿伦斯基早年未能摆脱我的影响，后期则受柴可夫斯基（Tchaikovsky）影响颇深，他很快就会被世人遗忘。" 此言在数十年间一语成谶，但自20世纪80年代起，学界与听众对其作品的关注度再度回升，并延续至今。他为弦乐团创作的《柴可夫斯基主题变奏曲》（1894年）与《D小调第一钢琴三重奏》（1894年）已跻身经典常演曲目，其多数作品亦被灌录为唱片。阿伦斯基的其他作品包括：1881年创作的《钢琴协奏曲》、两部交响曲（1883年、1889年）、1891年的《小提琴协奏曲》、两部弦乐四重奏，以及多首钢琴独奏组曲，其中尤以1892年的《第二组曲：剪影》最为知名。