Boris Brovtsyn, Mohamed Hiber: Taneyev

The Strad Issue: October 2024

Description: Style aplenty in two characterful works by a Tchaikovsky pupil

Musicians: Boris Brovtsyn, Mohamed Hiber (violins) Gareth Lubbe (viola) Alexey Stadler (cello) Eldar Nebolsin (piano)

Works: Taneyev: Violin Sonata in A minor; Piano Quintet in G minor

Catalogue number: NAXOS 8.574566

Sergey Taneyev is sometimes spoken of as the heir to Tchaikovsky, with whom he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, but he aligned himself to the Austro-German tradition even more than his teacher. Perhaps that’s one reason he’s not better known in the West: for a Russian, his music seems simply too European. But this disc, featuring artists and programming from the 2023–4 season of Spectrum Concerts Berlin, is a perfect spur to further exploration.

Even in the Violin Sonata, the less outwardly showy of the two works, Boris Brovtsyn and Eldar Nebolsin make a committed case by allowing the work to shine unapologetically in its early-Romantic skin. They never overburden the expression, instead illuminating Taneyev’s neatly crafted counterpoint – though the playing is always characterful. The Minuet comes with the lightness of Scarlatti, its drone-infused musette Trio section the only spot where Nebolsin allows himself, judiciously here, any licence with the pedal.

The substantial Piano Quintet delves deeper, its first movement suggesting Wagnerian chromaticism and a bleakness of tone that pre-echoes Shostakovich. The crisp Scherzo is cut through with a lyrical Trio bathed in the elegance appropriate to a distinguished but unstuffy salon. Throughout the disc, the playing is such a delight that the individual and collective effort simply disappears from view.

EDWARD BHESANIA