MUSIClassical notes: Taneyev String Quartet in C Op 16

Just added to our "Music for a Small Room" station playlist is Allegretto-Scherzando from Taneyev's String Quintet in C major, Op. 16. It's played by the Martinů Quartet and cellist Jiři Bárta on their new recording of the Russian composer's complete quintets for the Supraphon label. 'The string quintets emerge as near-orchestral giants,' writes critic David Nice in the June issue of BBC Music Magazine, 'I was knocked for six by these two works.' Written between 1903-04, the C major Quintet No. 2 was premiered in Leipzig in 1905. At around 40 minutes long, it's a large-scale piece cast in four movements, with an extra viola added to the usual string quartet line-up. The lively third movement 'teems with various tempos,' says booklet note writer Pravoslav Kohout, 'evoking mazurka, minuet, waltz and scherzo elements'.