Alexander Glazunov

The Belyayev circle's craftsman, who carried the Russian symphonic tradition into the Soviet era

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RomanticPianoSymphony

Who he was

Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936) was born in St Petersburg and died near Paris. At thirteen he was introduced by Balakirev to Rimsky-Korsakov, with whom he studied composition privately; he never entered a conservatory. His First Symphony was played by the Free Music School in 1882, when he was sixteen. He joined the Belyayev circle, directed the St Petersburg Conservatory from 1905 to 1928, and after travelling to Vienna for the Schubert centenary in 1928 he did not return to Russia. He died in Paris in 1936.

His place

He inherited the Russian symphonic tradition at the end of the nineteenth century and carried it into the Soviet period. After Tchaikovsky and Borodin the country needed stable, professional, teachable craft, and he supplied it. He followed no nationalist programme and conducted no modernist experiments; instead he joined Western form and counterpoint to a Russian sense of melody. As director he hired professors and fought for his students, and the young Shostakovich's admission had his support. He also finished other men's work: the overture and several scenes of Borodin's Prince Igor were completed by him and staged in 1890.

What to hear

Listen first for the voices inside thick chords. In the First Sonata Op.74 the bass is often a rival to the melody rather than an accompaniment. Then hear the musicality of the studies. The three of Op.31 each set a technical problem but are shaped as pieces with a beginning and a climax; notice whether the right-hand melody stays legato while the left hand leaps. Then how a theme is built. The Suite on the Name 'Sascha' Op.2 turns the letters of a name into notes, and the theme is as short as a slogan, so all the variety has to come from the sections that follow. Finally late counterpoint. The four preludes and fugues of Op.101 were written in 1923; the subjects are short and the answers modulate often, so hear how little material he needs to keep the key clear.

Key works

• Orchestral: eight symphonies, the symphonic poem Stenka Razin, Violin Concerto
• Stage: Raymonda, The Seasons
• Piano: two sonatas, Etudes Op.31, Theme and Variations Op.72
• Completions: the overture and scenes of Borodin's Prince Igor

Influence

In his lifetime his music stood for the Russian symphonic mainstream; it stayed in concert halls after 1917 and was later labelled academic and allowed to cool. His real legacy was institutional: under him the conservatory became a place that trained composers by year and by subject, and that arrangement survived into the Soviet era. His completion of Prince Igor brought an unfinished opera into the regular repertoire, while his own symphonies and ballet scores remain in the programmes of Russian orchestras.

Sources

• 格拉祖诺夫生平、贝利亚耶夫圈子与圣彼得堡音乐学院任期，参 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 的 Glazunov 条目，本文为原创表述
• 八首交响曲与《伊戈尔王》补完工作的背景，参通行俄国音乐史研究，实例说明由本站撰写

Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.