Presents
César Cui
Farniente from A Argenteau for Piano Trio, Op.40 No.2
A Argenteau was a set of nine works for piano which Cui dedicated to the Count and Countess de Mercy Argenteau, but it was really composed only for the Countess Marie de Mercy Argenteau (1837-1890) a Belgian pianist. Late in life, she became quite fond of Russian music, especially that of Cesar Cui for whose music she helped popularize by giving financial support that made performances and publication of several of his works possible. À Argenteau was a musical reminiscence of Cui’s visit to the count and countess' estate in Belgium. Cui chose to arrange the second of the nine pieces entitled Farniente for piano trio. Farniente roughly translated in English means doing nothing or idleness, but without being bored. Perhaps 'just lazing about' might be the best translation of this light, very romantic dreamy piece. The work dates from 1887.
César Cui (1835-1918) was born in the then Russian (now Lithuanian) city of Vilnius also known as Vilna. His father was French, his mother Lithuanian. When he was 16, his parents sent him to St. Petersburg to take a degree in engineering. Subsequently, he began a career as a military engineer and eventually became an expert on military fortifications. His expertise was such that he ended his career as a general and for many years was a professor of this subject, writing several important works. Nonetheless, Cui today is only known as a composer. As a boy, he was given piano lessons and studied with the then prominent Polish composer Stanislaw Moniuszko before leaving for St. Petersburg. Like his better known contemporary, Alexander Borodin who was a chemist, Cui despite pursuing an active military and academic career, nonetheless, composed throughout his life and was actually a rather prolific composer. In addition to this, he was a prominent music critic. As a critic his goal was to promote the music of contemporary Russian composers, especially the works of the composers who eventually became known as The Mighty Five. (Rimsky Korsakov, Borodin, Cui, Balakiev and Mussorgsky) Cui concentrated his efforts on opera and vocal works and did not write symphonies, although he did write a few orchestral works. He did not ignore chamber music, writing three string quartets. Outside Russia, his reputation rests almost entirely on a short, evocative work he wrote for violin and piano, Orientale, taken from the larger work for violin and piano, Kalaidoscope
This is short work makes a perfect interlude in a longer concert or a superb encore. Out of print for the better part of a century we are very pleased to make it available once again.
Parts: $14.95
