The Arensky Piano Concerto was written when the composer was barely 20 years old and just prior to his graduation from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory where he was a composition student of Rimsky-Korsakov. Upon graduation be was appointed professor at the Moscow Conservatory where his students included Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Gretchaninov.
Among Arensky's major works are three operas, two symphonies, a violin concerto and three cantatas, but he is known today almost exclusively for his D minor Piano Trio, the first two of his Suites for Two Pianos, and this youthful Piano Concerto.
The concerto is a three movement work, beautifully melodic and skillfully constructed, with a good deal of the writing for the piano and orchestra very reminiscent of Chopin. However the dominant influence on the work is that of Tchaikovsky who was to be the major influence on Arensky throughout his life. And therein lies the rub. At a time when Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Prokofiev were laying waste to the world to which he belonged, Arensky's music was quickly forgotten.
The following performance of the Arensky Piano Concerto was recorded in 1948 by Grigory Ginzburg with the Soviet All-Union Radio Orchestra conducted by Sergei Gorchakov. It is a fine performance that I hope will go a long way to convincing you that this is indeed a work deserving of greater attention.
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