A student of Rimsky-Korsakov and the teacher of Rachmaninov and Scriabin, Anton Arensky holds a distinguished place in the history of Russian music as both an academic and a composer. For his 1900 ballet Egyptian Nights, he chose an exotic theme – the dangerous love of the handsome Amoun for Queen Cleopatra. With his gift for orchestration and color, Arensky fashioned a sensuous and vivid score. (Naxos)
