Being one of the most important representatives of the Moscow School of Composers around the turn of the century, Sergey Taneyev (1856-1915) takes a special place in Russian music. He was a pupil of Tchaikovsky and teacher of Rachmaninov and Skryabin. His oeuvre and personality influenced a whole generation of musicians. Unlike most 'nationalist'-thinking Russian composers of that time, Taneyev tended toward the humanistic 'eternal' themes of art. His opera trilogy 'L'Orestie' (after Aeschylus) is unequalled in Russian music. He composed splendid works for choir, as he was in his element as excellent contrapuntist and expert of European Renaissance music.