Site Search
Follow us on
Affiliates
Alexander Glazunov
(1865 - 1936)
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (August 10, 1865 - March 21, 1936) was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor. He served as director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 and 1928 and was also instrumental in the reorganization of the institute into the Petrograd Conservatory, then the Leningrad Conservatory, following the Bolshevik Revolution. He continued heading the Conservatory until 1930, though he had left the Soviet Union in 1928 and did not return. The best known student under his tenure during the early Soviet years was Dmitri Shostakovich.
Glazunov was significant in that he successfully reconciled nationalism and cosmopolitanism in Russian music. While he was the direct successor to Balakirev's nationalism, he tended more towards Borodin's epic grandeur while absorbing a number of other influences. These included Rimsky-Korsakov's orchestral virtuosity, Tchaikovsky's lyricism and Taneyev's contrapuntal skill. His weaknesses were a streak of academicism which sometimes overpowered his inspiration and an eclecticism which could sap the ultimate stamp of originality from his music. Younger composers such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich eventually considered his music old-fashioned while also admitting he remained a composer with an imposing reputation and a stabilizing influence in a time of transition and turmoil.
Recommended Recordings
String Quartets (2, 4, 7)
-
String Quartet #2 Op. 10 and String Quartet #4, Op. 64; Elegy Op. 105/Dabringhaus & Grimm MDG6031237-2
-
Utrecht String Quartet
-
String Quartet #5, Op. 70; Novelettes Op. 15/Delos DE3262
-
St. Petersburg String Quartet
-
String Quartet #2 Op. 10 and String Quartet #4, Op. 64/Melodiya MCD173
-
Shostakovich Quartet
-
String Quartet #7, Op. 107; String Quintet Op. 39/Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs MFCD875
-
Shostakovich Quartet
String Quintet
-
String Quintet, Op. 39; Suite Op. 35/Dabringhaus & Grimm MDG6031238-6
-
Michael Stirling (cello), Utrecht String Quartet
-
String Quintet, Op. 39; Novelettes Op. 15/Naxos 8.570256
-
Nathaniel Rosen (cello), Fine Arts String Quartet
-
String Quintet, Op. 39; String Quartet #7/Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs MFCD875
-
Shostakovich Quartet
Raymonda (ballet)
-
Ballet Music "Raymonda", Op. 57/Chandos CHAN8447
-
Neeme Järvi/Scottish National Orchestra
-
Ballet Music "Raymonda", Op. 57 (complete)/Naxos 8.553503-4
-
Alexander Anissimov/Moscow Symphony Orchestra
-
Ballet "Raymonda", Op. 57/Arthaus Musik DVD 100719
-
Natalya Bessmertnova, Yuri Vasyuchenko, Gedminas Taranda, Algis Zhuraitis/Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
-
Ballet "Raymonda", Op. 57/Kultur Video DVD 1170
-
Ludmila Semenyaka, Irek Mukhamedov, Gedminas Taranda, Algis Zhuraitis/Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra
The Seasons (ballet)
-
Ballet Music "The Seasons", Op. 67; Violin Concerto Op. 82/Chandos CHAN8596
-
Neeme Järvi/Scottish National Orchestra
-
Ballet Music "The Seasons", Op. 67; Scènes de Ballet Op. 52/Marco Polo 8.223136
-
Ondrej Lenard/Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava
-
Ballet Music "The Seasons", Op. 67; Scènes de Ballet Op. 52/Telarc CD-80347
-
Ondrej Lenard/Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bratislava
Symphonies ( 4, 5, 7)
-
Symphony #1, Op. 48 and Symphony #5 "Heroic", Op. 55/Orfeo C093101A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #2, Op. 16; Concert Waltz #1 Op. 47/Orfeo C148101A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #3, Op. 33Concert Waltz #2 Op. 51/Orfeo C157101A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #4, Op. 48 and Symphony #5 "Heroic", Op. 55/Olympia OCD101
-
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky/USSR Ministry Of Culture Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #4, Op. 48 and Symphony #7 "Pastorale", Op. 77/Warner Classics 63236-2
-
José Serebrier/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
-
Symphony #4, Op. 48 and Symphony #7 "Pastorale", Op. 77/Orfeo C148201A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #5 "Heroic", Op. 55; Ballet Music "The Seasons" Op. 67/Warner Classics 61434-2
-
José Serebrier/Royal Scottish National Orchestra
-
Symphony #6, Op. 58; Poème lyrique Op. 12/Orfeo C157201A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #7 "Pastorale", Op. 77; Karelian Legend Op. 99/Melodiya SUCD10-00028
-
Evgeni Svetlanov/USSR Symphony Orchestra
-
Symphony #8, Op. 83; Ouverture solenelle Op.13; Wedding March Op. 21/Orfeo C093201A
-
Neeme Järvi/Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra