Arensky / Rachmaninoff: Romances

"Romances" is an appealing release of Russian art songs for voice and piano by Anton Arensky (1861–1906) and his student Sergei Rachmaninoff (1873–1943). The works are interpreted by coloratura soprano Anastasia Prokofieva – a rising young star of the opera world – and the London-based conductor, pianist, and vocal coach Sergey Rybin, a member of the Royal Academy of Music, at the piano. Sergey Rybin's excellent liner notes highlight the inner connection between Arensky and Rachmaninoff. Rachmaninoff often spoke about the profound influence of his teacher and mentor Arensky, who was his professor of harmony, counterpoint, and free composition at the Moscow Conservatory between 1885 and 1888. Anton Arensky, in turn, had studied composition under Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. Arensky's compositions—just like Rachmaninoff's—are full of highly memorable melodies, deeply rooted in both bel canto and the Russian folk aesthetic. Even though his role as a teacher is arguably his most lasting contribution, he remained active as a composer of operas, symphonies, concertos, chamber music, and piano works. Before Rachmaninoff finally left Russia in 1917, he composed a total of eighty-three romances for voice and piano. His talent for lush melodies, his broad emotional spectrum, and his exceptionally difficult piano works make him one of the last great Romantic pianists and composers, and these outstanding qualities are also evident in his art songs. His "Twelve Songs", Op. 21, composed in 1902, include some of his most beautiful vocal compositions, with "Lilacs" being an exquisite example.