Anton Arensky (1861-1906) was a Russian composer, pianist and teacher, trained at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory under Rimsky-Korsakov. He later joined the Moscow Conservatory, where his pupils included Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Glière.

Arensky wrote operas, symphonies, piano music, songs and chamber works, with the Piano Trio No. 1 and the Variations on a Theme by Tchaikovsky among his best-known pieces. His music often reflects the influence of Tchaikovsky, whose lyricism and emotional warmth he admired.

His style is elegant, melodic and beautifully crafted, with a particular gift for chamber textures and lyrical piano writing. Though not a radical innovator, Arensky possessed a refined musical instinct and a strong sense of expressive proportion.

Arensky’s short life and uneven reputation have sometimes left him on the edge of the Russian canon. Yet his finest works remain compelling examples of late Romantic Russian music, full of tenderness, polish and melancholy light.