The Taneyev Quartet made its first appearance in the Small Hall of the Leningrad Conservatory in the winter of 1946. Its members were students. The quartet played in particular the quartets of Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, and Taneiev but also included first performances of works by the Leningrad composers V. Salmanov, O. Evlakhov, V. Basner, A. Chernov, V. Agafonnikov and others. 1974 Dmitry Shostakovich asked the Taneyev Quartet to take over the responsibility of the world premiere of his 15th string quartet, an offer which they accepted.
The name of Taneyev was adopted by the Quartet in 1963. Its members are: Vladmir Ovcharek, Grigori Lutski, Vissarion Soloview and Josif Levinson.
Liner note with S. Taneyev, String Quartets No. 8 in C Major; String Quartet No. 9 in A major, Melodiya MA 12411
The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists, a violist, and a cellist. The double bass is almost never used in the ensemble mainly because it would sound too loud and heavy.
In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet. The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a piano quintet. The genre flourished during the nineteenth century.
A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet, a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola or a second cello, or occasionally a double bass.
The Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 57 is a five-movement composition for two violins, viola, cello, and piano by Dmitri Shostakovich. He composed it between July 13 and September 14, 1940. Sources conflict on where he began to compose it—the location is variously stated to be Shalovo, Kellomäki, or Moscow—but most agree that it was completed in Leningrad. It is the second of Shostakovich's two attempts at composing a piano quintet. His first dated from his student years, but was ultimately abandoned and repurposed in other compositions.
Reinhold Moritzevich Glière, born Reinhold Ernest Glier, was a Russian and Soviet composer of German and Polish descent. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of RSFSR (1935) and People's Artist of USSR (1938).
The String Quartet No. 15 in E-flat minor, Op. 144 by Dmitri Shostakovich is the composer's last. It was his first quartet since the Sixth which did not bear a dedication.
Ludwig van Beethoven's late string quartets are:
Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.
Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 1 in C major, Op. 49, was composed in six weeks during the summer of 1938. He began to work on the quartet on the morning of May 10, 1938. It carries no dedication. Shostakovich said that in this quartet he had "visualized childhood scenes, somewhat naïve and bright moods associated with spring."
Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 14 in F-sharp major, Op. 142, was composed in 1972–73. It is dedicated to Sergei Shirinsky, the cellist of the Beethoven Quartet, the ensemble that premiered most of Shostakovich's quartets. The first performance was held in Leningrad on November 12, 1973.
Dmitri Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 5 in B-flat major, Op. 92, was composed in autumn 1952. It was premiered in Leningrad in November 1953 by the Beethoven Quartet, to whom it is dedicated.
Alexander Sergeyevich Taneyev was a Russian state official and composer of the late Romantic era, specifically of the nationalist school. Among his better-known works were three string quartets, believed to have been composed between 1898 and 1900.
Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev was a Russian music publisher, outstanding philanthropist, and the owner of a large wood dealership enterprise in Russia. He was also the founder of the Belyayev circle, a society of musicians in Russia whose members included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov and Anatoly Lyadov. His surname is often transliterated as Belaieff or Belayev. In 1886 the Russian painter Ilya Repin made a portrait of Belyayev.
Leonid Vladimirovich Nikolayev was a Russian and Soviet pianist, composer and pedagogue. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1938).
The Carpe Diem String Quartet was founded in 2005 and is a classical string quartet based in Columbus, Ohio. The quartet's repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary chamber music. They regularly perform the works of contemporaries like Reza Vali, Richard Danielpour, Jonathan Leshnoff as well as other renowned classical performers including Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven and Felix Mendelssohn. Carpe Diem performs and tours regularly, in the United States, Canada, Japan, China, and Europe. The quartet is a strong proponent for the overlooked Russian composer Sergei Taneyev, and recorded his nine (9) string quartets, as well as his viola quintet, all for the Naxos label. The quartet regularly performs and collaborates with non-classical artists, including Willy Porter and Jayme Stone. A few of the outstanding artists with whom the quartet has played include Yo-Yo Ma, David Krakuaer, Raul Juarena, and Richard Stoltzman.
Hanuš Wihan was a Czech cellist. Some considered him the greatest of his time. He was strongly associated with the works of Antonín Dvořák, whose Cello Concerto in B minor, Rondo in G minor, and the short piece Silent Woods were all dedicated to him. He was the founder and later cellist of the Czech String Quartet, which was world-famous throughout its 40-year existence.
Veniamin Efimovich Basner was a Russian composer. He was recognized by the Soviet Union as a People's Artist of Russia and a State prize-winner. An asteroid called 4267 Basner, discovered in 1971, was named in his honour. He was a member of the St Petersburg Union of Composers.
Ilya Gringolts born 2 July 1982 in Leningrad is a violinist and educator.