View source for Sergey Taneyev

{{picture|file=Sergey Taneyev.jpg|caption='''Sergey Taneyev''' (1856-1915)}}
Russian composer, musicologist, teacher, pianist and conductor (b. 13/25 November 1856 in Vladimir; d. 6/19 June 1915 at Dyudkovo, near [[Zvenigorod]]), born '''Sergey Ivanovich Taneyev''' (Сергей Иванович Танеев).

==Tchaikovsky and Taneyev==
The youngest son of Ivan Ilyich Taneyev (1796–1879), a state councillor, physician and amateur musician, and his wife [[Varvara Taneyeva|Varvara Pavlovna]] (b. Protopopova, 1822–1889), Sergey began taking piano lessons at the age of five. In 1866, aged just nine, he enrolled in the [[Moscow]] Conservatory, studying piano first under [[Eduard Langer]], and then [[Nikolay Rubinstein]]. In 1871 he joined Tchaikovsky's composition class, and his outstanding ability earned the admiration of his tutor, and they remained good friends after Taneyev graduated in 1875 (he graduated with gold medals in piano and composition). During an extended stay in [[Paris]] (from November 1876 to May 1877), Taneyev helped Tchaikovsky to try to organize a concert of his works in the French capital. Although this plan did not materialize, Taneyev made the acquaintance of a number of prominent composers and musicians in [[Paris]], including [[Camille Saint-Saëns]] and [[Pauline Viardot]], and he also met [[Ivan Turgenev]] <ref name="note1"/>. The former student went on to succeed Tchaikovsky as professor of harmony at the conservatory (1878–1905), and also later served as its director (1885–1889). Throughout his life he continued to compose, and also produced a two-volume treatise on counterpoint (1909).

Tchaikovsky dedicated his orchestral fantasia ''[[Francesca da Rimini]]'', Op. 32 (1876) to Sergey Taneyev, and the latter returned the compliment with the dedication of his own String Quartet in B♭ minor (1890). The manuscript of Tchaikovsky's [[Piano Concerto No. 1]], Op. 23 (1874–75) contains an inscription to Taneyev (who gave one of the earliest performances of the work), although this was struck out in favour of the eventual dedicatee, [[Hans von Bülow]].

In 1882, Taneyev gave the first Russian performance of Tchaikovsky's [[Piano Concerto No. 2]], Op. 44 in [[Moscow]], and the first ever performances of the solo parts in the [[Concert Fantasia]], Op. 56 (1885), [[Piano Concerto No. 3]], Op. 75 (1895), and [[Andante and Finale]] (1896). Taneyev also made transcriptions of a number of Tchaikovsky's works, including piano duet versions of the [[Symphony No. 4]], Op. 36 (1877), the [[Symphony No. 5]], Op. 64 (1888), the opera ''[[Iolanta]]'', Op. 68 (1891), and the ballet ''[[The Nutcracker]]'', Op. 71 (1891–92), as well as orchestral arrangements of some of Tchaikovsky's songs.

After Tchaikovsky's death in 1893, Taneyev was entrusted by [[Modest Tchaikovsky]] to complete a number of works left unfinished: the duet scena for an opera on ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'', the [[Andante and Finale]] for piano and orchestra, Op. 79, and the piano piece ''[[Moment lyrique|Momento lirico]]'' (unaware that the latter work had already been published in a completed form as the ''[[Moment lyrique]]'').

Taneyev was also active in founding the Tchaikovsky House-Museum at [[Klin]] in 1895, and after his own death from pneumonia in 1915, Taneyev's own manuscripts were bequeathed to the [[Klin]] archive.

==Dedications==
In 1876, Tchaikovsky dedicated his orchestral fantasia ''[[Francesca da Rimini]]'', Op. 32, "à Monsieur Serge Taneïew". 

Taneyev's String Quartet No. 1, Op. 4 (1890) was dedicated to Tchaikovsky.

==Correspondence with Tchaikovsky==
115 letters from Tchaikovsky to Sergey Taneyev have survived, dating from 1874 to 1893, all of which have been translated into English on this website:
* '''[[Letter 345]]''' – 25 March/6 April 1874, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 390]]''' – 5/17 February 1875, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 402]]''' – by 24 May/5 June 1875, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 409]]''' – 14/26 August 1875, from [[Verbovka]]
* '''[[Letter 411]]''' – 9/21 September 1875, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 414]]''' – September or October 1875, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 415]]''' – September or October 1875, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 455a]]''' – 20 March/1 April 1876 (?), from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 472]]''' – 14/26 June 1876, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 500]]''' – 21 September/3 October 1876, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 517]]''' – 2/14 December 1876, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 518]]''' – 5/17 December 1876, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 528]]''' – 25 December 1876/6 January 1877, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 535]]''' – 12/24 January 1877, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 539]]''' – 29 January/10 February 1877, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 551]]''' – 25 April/7 May 1877, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 576]]''' – 5/17 July 1877, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 681]]''' – 7/19 December 1877, from [[Venice]]
* '''[[Letter 716]]''' – 2/14 January 1878, from [[San Remo]]
* '''[[Letter 738]]''' – 24 January/5 February 1878, from [[San Remo]]
* '''[[Letter 799]]''' – 27 March/8 April 1878, from [[Clarens]]
* '''[[Letter 807]]''' – 4/16 April 1878, from [[Clarens]]
* '''[[Letter 869a]]''' – 12/24 July 1878, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 924]]''' – 28 September/10 October 1878, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 935]]''' – 7/19 October 1878, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 1056]]''' – 4/16 January 1879, from [[Clarens]]
* '''[[Letter 1383]]''' – 19/31 December 1879, from [[Rome]]
* '''[[Letter 1396]]''' – 4/16 January 1880, from [[Rome]]
* '''[[Letter 1469]]''' – early/mid April 1880, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 1503]]''' – 22 May/3 June 1880, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1544]]''' – 21 July/2 August 1880, from [[Simaki]]
* '''[[Letter 1554]]''' – 1/13 August 1880, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1565]]''' – 15/27 August–24 August/5 September 1880, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1574]]''' – 1/13 September 1880, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1646]]''' – 13/25 December 1880, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 1706]]''' – 10/22 March 1881, from [[Nice]]
* '''[[Letter 1795]]''' – 27 June/9 July 1881, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1826]]''' – 5/17 August 1881, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 1839]]''' – 23 August/4 September–25 August/6 September 1881, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 2059]]''' – 11/23 July 1882, from [[Grankino]]
* '''[[Letter 2071]]''' – 28 July/9 August 1882, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 2130]]''' – 8/20 October 1882, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 2148]]''' – 29 October/10 November 1882, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 2167]]''' – 30 November/12 December 1882, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 2216]]''' – 2/14 February 1883, from [[Paris]]
* '''[[Letter 2253]]''' – 1/13 April–3/15 April 1883, from [[Paris]]
* '''[[Letter 2459]]''' – 1/13 April 1884, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 2465]]''' – 14/26 April 1884, from [[Kamenka]]
* '''[[Letter 2512]]''' – 30 June/12 July 1884, from [[Grankino]]
* '''[[Letter 2520]]''' – 23 July/4 August 1884, from [[Skabeyevo]]
* '''[[Letter 2532]]''' – 20 August/1 September 1884, from [[Skabeyevo]]
* '''[[Letter 2553]]''' – 20 September/2 October 1884, from [[Pleshcheyevo]]
* '''[[Letter 2557]]''' – 25 September/7 October 1884, from [[Pleshcheyevo]]
* '''[[Letter 2560]]''' – 28 September/10 October 1884, from [[Pleshcheyevo]]
* '''[[Letter 2607]]''' – 26 November/8 December 1884, from [[Paris]]
* '''[[Letter 2619]]''' – 9/21 December 1884, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 2711]]''' – 20 May/1 June 1885, from [[Smolensk]] (addressed jointly to Taneyev and [[Pyotr Jurgenson]])
* '''[[Letter 2722]]''' – 13/25 June 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2728]]''' – 28 June/10 July 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2733]]''' – 8/20 July 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2736]]''' – 10/22 July 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2755]]''' – 26 August/7 September 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2757]]''' – 30 August/11 September 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2834]]''' – 11/23 December 1885, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2869]]''' – 24 January/5 February 1886, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 2870]]''' – 27 January/8 February 1886, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3001]]''' – 11/23 July 1886, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3016]]''' – 29 July/10 August 1886, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 3039]]''' – 3/15 September 1886, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3125]]''' – 20 December 1886/1 January 1887, from [[Moscow]] (addressed jointly to Taneyev and [[Karl Albrecht]])
* '''[[Letter 3183]]''' – 14/26 February 1887, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3211]]''' – 28 March/9 April 1887, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3294]]''' – 22 July/3 August 1887, from [[Aachen]]
* '''[[Letter 3324]]''' – 18/30 August 1887, from [[Aachen]]
* '''[[Letter 3336]]''' – 2/14 September 1887, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3387]]''' – 16/28 October 1887, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 3410]]''' – 18/30 November 1887, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 3454a]]''' – December 1887
* '''[[Letter 3455]]''' – 1887, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 3567]]''' – 11/23 May 1888, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 3577]]''' – between 24 May/5 June and 29 May/10 June 1888, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 3675a]]''' – 21 September/3 October 1888, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 3719]]''' – October 1888 (?), from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 3721]]''' – 3/15 November 1888, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 3860]]''' – 19/31 May 1889, from [[Frolovskoye]]
* '''[[Letter 3863]]''' – 22 May/3 June 1889, from [[Frolovskoye]]
* '''[[Letter 3955]]''' – between 7/19 and 9/21 October 1889 (?), from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4098]]''' – 13/25 April 1890, from [[Rome]]
* '''[[Letter 4244a]]''' – 31 October/12 November 1890 (?), from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4285]]''' – 5/17 January 1891, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4302]]''' – 14/26 January 1891, from [[Frolovskoye]]
* '''[[Letter 4429]]''' – 27 June/9 July 1891, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 4484]]''' – 25 September/7 October 1891, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 4525]]''' – 25 October/6 November 1891, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4533a]]''' – 2/14 November or 3/15 November 1891 (?), from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4571]]''' – 9/21 December 1891, from [[Maydanovo]]
* '''[[Letter 4660]]''' – 10/22 April 1892, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4724]]''' – 13/25 July 1892, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 4746]]''' – 3/15 August 1892, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 4750]]''' – 11/23 August 1892, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4782a]]''' – 9/21 October 1892, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 4785]]''' – 14/26 October 1892, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4794]]''' – 3/15 November 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4801]]''' – 8/20 November 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4806]]''' – 14/26 November 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4814]]''' – 5/17 December 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4815]]''' – 6/18 December 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4818]]''' – 7/19 December 1892, from [[Saint Petersburg]]
* '''[[Letter 4969]]''' – 18/30 July 1893, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 4983]]''' – 22 July/3 August 1893, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 4997]]''' – 1/13 August 1893, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 5008]]''' – 12/24 August 1893, from [[Klin]]
* '''[[Letter 5034]]''' – 18/30 September 1893, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 5036]]''' – mid/late September 1893, from [[Moscow]]
* '''[[Letter 5058]]''' – 8/20 October 1893, from [[Moscow]]

112 letters from Taneyev to Tchaikovsky have been preserved, dating from 1874 to 1893, of which 111 are held by the {{RUS-KLč}} at [[Klin]] (a{{sup|4}}, Nos. 4349–4439, 4441–4459 and 6630) <ref name="note2"/>, and one by the {{RUS-Mcl}} in [[Moscow]].

==Bibliography==
* {{bib|1894/7}} (1894)
* {{bib|1902/41}} (1902)
* {{bib|1907/14}} (1907)
* {{bib|1913/23}} (1913)
* {{bib|1913/76}} (1913)
* {{bib|1916/7}} (1916)
* {{bib|1916/16}} (1916)
* {{bib|1916/17}} (1916)
* {{bib|1937/34}} (1937)
* {{bib|1948/37}} (1948)
* {{bib|1951/48}} (1951)
* {{bib|1951/54}} (1951)
* {{bib|1965/24}} (1965)
* {{bib|1966/11}} (1966)
* {{bib|1972/71}} (1972)
* {{bib|1978/20}} (1978)
* {{bib|1980/136}} (1980)
* {{bib|1990/63}} (1990)
* {{bib|1990/233}} (1990)
* {{bib|1994/156}} (1994)
* {{bib|2001/1}} (2001)
* {{bib|2006/48}} (2006)

==External Links==
* [[wikipedia:Sergei_Taneyev|Wikipedia]]
* {{IMSLP|Taneyev,_Sergey}}  
* {{viaf|59271006}}
* ''[http://www.gavindixon.info/Sergei_Taneyev.htm Sergey Taneyev: Tchaikovsky's Heir or the Russian Bach?]''  

==Notes and References==
<references>
<ref name="note1">For more information on Taneyev's stay in Paris in 1876-77, see: [http://www.turgenevmusica.info/en/taneyev.html Turgenev and Taneyev] </ref>
<ref name="note2">This total includes one letter from 1886 written jointly by Taneyev and his mother [[Varvara Taneyeva|Varvara]]. The [[Klin]] archive also holds one further letter, dating from 1883, written jointly by Taneyev and [[Herman Laroche]].</ref>
</references>
[[Category:People|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Composers|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Conductors|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Correspondents|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Dedicatees|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Friends|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Pianists|Taneyev, Sergey]]
[[Category:Students (of Tchaikovsky)|Taneyev, Sergey]]
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