String Trio in E flat major Op 31
String Trio in B minor
String Trio in D major

‘He is the greatest master of counterpoint in Russia; I am not even sure there is his equal in the West’, was Tchaikovsky’s verdict on his protégé, champion and friend Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev. Director of music at the Moscow Conservatory from 1885, Taneyev was a uniquely important figure in Russian musical history, a master of counterpoint who disliked the Nationalist school and instead cultivated a distinctive style that transcended national genres.

Taneyev’s works for string trio demonstrate among other things his great contrapuntal abilities. His excursions into this genre were perhaps the first by a Russian composer; certainly the first of such high quality.

The Leopold String Trio is firmly established at the forefront of the international chamber music scene and received the 2005 Royal Philharmonic Society Chamber Ensemble Award: ‘Through the sheer brilliance and maturity of their playing, their collaborations with other outstanding performers, and their enterprise and imagination in programming, commissioning and touring, the Leopold String Trio have shown uncompromising dedication to an other-wise neglected genre, and advocacy for the richness of chamber music as a whole.’



DAILY TELEGRAPH CLASSICAL CD OF THE WEEK; GRAMOPHONE RECOMMENDS

'It would be hard to over-praise the Leopold Trio's performances. Agility and all-round aplomb … Warmth and colour … Structural and idiomatic awareness … Fine recording quality and helpful annotation too; so no reason not to invest'' (Gramophone)

'The Leopold String Trio … are arguably the leading such trio in the world … Taneyev was one of the greatest Russian musicians of his time. His mastery of the craft of composition was legendary among his contemporaries - he was praised especially by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov … The three string trios on this Hyperion CD make a very important contribution to our knowledge of Russian chamber music of the period … each stands alone as the individual product of a great musician, making this issue a CD of no little importance … A fascinating and at times enthralling listening experience … The music is inherently Russian, beautifully composed and so varied in convincing expression that the attentive listener is at once drawn into the composer's world. This is wonderful music, wonderfully performed and recorded … Highly recommended' (International Record Review)

'There is … an individual creative spark, urgency and textural richness that the Leopolds communicate with sensitivity and terrific panache' (Daily Telegraph)

'Star pupil of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov's mentor, Taneyev was also a fine composer, as witness these enchanting, beguilingly performed gems' (Classic FM Magazine)

'Listening to the three trios that the Leopold String Trio present with such commitment and persuasiveness leaves no doubt as to Taneyev's contrapuntal ingenuity and resource … Excellent recorded sound makes this a rewarding issue in every way' (BBC Music Magazine)

'The competition isn't quite up to their level… the Leopold String Trio versions are, to my ear, as good as it gets' (Fanfare, USA)

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Recording details: January 2008; Potton Hall, Dunwich, Suffolk, United Kingdom; Produced by Andrew Keener; Engineered by Simon Eadon; Release date: October 2008;