Mimi's query set me looking at my Tcherepnin piano scores.  Some thoughts--

A.T. grew up in a household that was among the most experimental in St.
Petersburg.  His father, Nicolai, was the most progressive composer on the
faculty of the conservatory at the time (Prokofiev's favorite instructor).
N.T.'s orchestral scores have all the theatrical glitter of Rimsky
Korsakov, but evince a disinterest in notions of thematic argument.
Consequently they are static, atmospheric, and strangely fixed on the
acoustic present moment.  [Liadov's "Enchanted Lake" expanded for the
duration of 20 minutes in some cases.] Listen to the new Chandos recording
of the ballet Narcisse & Echo and see if this characterization is not apt.

He began composing at age 10.  The earliest surviving pieces are certain of
the Bagatelles.  The Revolution forced the family to flee to Tiflis in 1918
and Paris in 1921.  There he studied composition with Vidal.  He quickly
established himself as a presence and allied with Tansman and Martinu to
form a school and to half a unified front when dealing with the salonnieres
who called the shots in the world of musical fashion.  He attached himself
to the ballet world, gave occasional concerts (he was a professional level
pianist, but like Medtner would only feature his own works).  He published
an Opus 1 Toccatta that was too redolent of Prokofiev, a Nocturne that had
faint Kuchkist elements, a opus 4 Sonatine Romantique--a bravura evocation
of the revolution with passages echoing gunfire in the streets, and the
Opus 5 Bagatelles which established his reputation as a composer.  Their
wit suggests Prokofiev, but they are of a more experimental harmonic cast
than P's work of the time.  Like many 1920s Russian experimentalists--
Schillinger, Roslavets, Oubukov, A. Krein, Slonimsky--Tcherepnin
experimented with novel scales.  His signature scale was composed of 3
tetrachords, each containing a whole tone and 2 semitones.  Yet unlike his
compatriots, A.T.  did not let abstraction dictate his compositions.  He
possessed something of his father's concern for tonal beauty, and even his
more experimental pieces have piquancy and charm.

He was neither expressionist, nor futurist.  His one work to provoke a
scandal, the symphony #1 with a movement for untuned percussion, seems a
work of admirable craft compared with an Anthiel provocation.  Posters have
commented on his sojourn in China--the pentatonic "5 Concert Etudes" are
perhaps the choicest fruit of that venture.  His latter years in Chicago
had him writing in alternation demotic pieces for orchestra and recondite,
experimental pieces for piano. He developed an interest in accordian.  His
sons Ivan and Serge both became composers.  Serge still lives in Paris.

Periods:
Opus 1-13    Bravura piano pieces, designed to attract notice.
Opus 13-48   Parisian phase: harmonic experiments and the cultivation of wit
Opus 52-78   The Chinese music
Opus 82-109  A pared down laconic style in piano. Public orchestral music.

David Shields