The piano music of Sergei Taneyev (1856-1915) is one of Russian’s hidden secrets. Student and friend of Tchaikovsky, Taneyev – a formidable pianist and composer of the front rank – has never had the attention he deserves. The CD couples a first-ever recording of the only two movements he recorded of his youthful piano concerto with more premiere recordings of music for solo piano from across his career. The Four Improvisations, composed jointly by Taneyev, Rachmaninov, Arensky and Glazunov, bring a composite first recording for all four composers. And The Composer’s Birthday, for narrator and piano, four hands, was written as a light-hearted birthday present for Tchaikovsky.