• Name: Alexander Glazunov
• Birthday: 08/10/1865
• Birth Place: St. Petersburg, Russia
• Died: 03/21/1936
• Place of Death: Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
• Period: Post-Romantic
• Genre: Classical

Title	Release
Alexander Glazunov: The Seasons Ballet Op. 67/Symphony No. 7, Op. 77
(11) Piano Concerto No. 1 in F minor, Op. 92	1952
String Quartet No. 2 in F major, Op. 10	2004
String Quartet No. 4 in A minor, Op. 64	2004
(10) Novelettes (5) for string quartet, Op. 15	1973
(2) String Quartet No. 3 in G major ("Slavonic"), Op. 26	1979
Variations on a Russian Theme, for orchestra (collaborative work with Lyadov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Vitols, et al.)	1996
(5) Concerto ballata for cello & orchestra in C major, Op. 108	1996
A Dream, song for voice & piano, Op. 60/4
A Wish, song for voice & piano, Op. 60/2	2005
(3) Albumleaf for trumpet & piano in D flat major	1992
Arabian Melody, song for voice & piano, Op. 4/5
(8) Bacchic Song, for voice & piano, Op. 27/1	1912
(6) Ballade for orchestra in F major, Op. 78	1961
(2) Barcarolle sur les Touches Noires, for piano	1995
(3) Brass Quartet for trumpet, horn & 2 trombones in E flat major ("In modo religioso"), Op. 38	1995
(4) Cantata in Memory of Pushkin's 100th Birthday, for soloists, chorus & orchestra, Op. 65	2000
(6) Carnaval, overture for orchestra in F major, Op. 45	1961
(2) Carol-Singers for string quartet (for the collaborative "Nameday Quartet" with Rimsky-Korsakov and Lyadov) W	1976
(40) Chant du ménéstral (Minstrel's Song) for cello & orchestra in F sharp minor, Op. 71
(4) Chopiniana, suite for orchestra, Op. 46	1961
(23) Concert Waltz for orchestra No. 1 in D major, Op. 47	1961
(12) Concert Waltz for orchestra No. 2 in F major, Op. 51	1961
(4) Coronation Cantata for soloists, chorus & orchestra, Op. 56
(3) Cortège solennel for orchestra in B flat major, Op. 91	1961
(2) Cortège solennel for orchestra in D major, Op. 50	1961
(3) Courante for string quartet in G major (for collaborative work "Les Vendredis," Book 2, No. 6)	1997
Do I Hear Your Voice, romance for voice & piano	2003
Drinking Song ("The amber-coloured goblet"), for voice & piano, Op. 60/1 W	1987
Duets (9) for various instruments
(2) Easy sonata for piano in G major	1995
Ekh tï, pesnya (Oh You, Song), for soprano, alto & piano, Op. 80	2003
(6) Elegy for cello & piano in D flat major ("Une pensée à Liszt"), Op. 17	1986
(4) Elegy for orchestra in C sharp minor/D flat major ("To the Memory of a Hero"), Op. 8	1961
(3) Elegy for string quartet in D minor ("In Memory of Belyayev"), Op. 105	1994
(6) Elegy for viola & piano in G minor, Op. 44
(4) Etude for piano in C major, Op. 31/1	1935
(3) Etude for piano in E major ("La nuit"), Op. 31/3	1950
(5) Etudes (3) for piano, Op. 31	1992
Fantasy for 2 pianos in F minor, Op. 104	1993
(6) Fantasy for organ in G minor, Op. 110 W
(3) Finnish Fantasy for orchestra in C major, Op. 88	1961
(6) Finnish Sketches (2) for orchestra in E major, Op. 89	1961
(6) From Darkness to Light, fantasy for orchestra in B minor/C major, Op. 53	1961
From Hafiz, song for baritone & piano	2003
(6) From the Middle Ages, suite for orchestra in E major, Op. 79	1961
(8) Grand Concert Waltz for piano, Op. 41	1995
(3) Having Fallen Asleep in the Flesh, hymn for chorus (harmonization of Easter Exaposteilarion)	1987
(2) Idyll for horn & strings in D major (original version of Op. 14/1)	1986
(4) Idylle for piano in F sharp major, Op. 103	1993
(4) Impromptus (2) for piano, Op. 54	1992

Born in 1865 in St. Petersburg, Glazunov was a leading Russian composer of the generation after Tchaikovsky. Doubtless owing to his exceptional mastery of and attentiveness to form, exemplified by his exceptional grasp of counterpoint, he has been described as a romantic Classicist and therefore compared to Brahms. Furthermore, since he remained faithful to a traditional nineteenth century musical idiom, while some of his contemporaries pursued varieties of Modernism, critics have described Glazunov's music as academic and formal. But Glazunov's oeuvre, which includes a wide range of genres, cannot be easily reduced to mere critical formulas. At heart, Glazunov was a Romantic composer, and the spirit of his music comes to the fore in his Violin Concerto in A Minor, a richly melodic work, in which the expressive potential of the violin is fully realized.

Displaying an immense musical talent as a child, Glazunov started studying with Rimsky-Korsakov at the age of 15. Glazunov's progress was indeed astonishing, for he completed his Symphony No. 1 at 16. In fact, his symphony , premiered by Balakirev in 1882, established, practically overnight, Glazunov's reputation as a great Russian composer. In 1884, the rich merchant and publisher Belyayev took Glazunov to Weimar, where the young composer met Liszt. Although absorbing many musical influences, particularly those of Liszt and Wagner, Glazunov eventually crafted an individual style, composing symphonies, ballets, and concertos for various instruments. Owing to his growing international fame as a symphonist, Glazunov was invited to conduct his works in Paris in 1889; an invitation from London came in 1896. During the 1890s, Glazunov composed some of his most successful works, including the fourth, fifth, and sixth symphonies, and the ballet Raymonda.

In 1899, Glazunov became an instructor in composition and orchestration at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. He resigned his post in the politically turbulent year of 1905, incensed by the government's politically motivated dismissal of Rimsky-Korsakov from his teaching position. However, when things returned to a semblance of normalcy, Glazunov was named head of the Conservatory. While his output may have diminished in terms of sheer quantity after 1905, Glazunov continued composing until the end of his life. After the Revolution of 1917, Glazunov, as director of a major national music school, worked hard, and with varying success, to protect his students from interference by a government which viewed music as an instrument of political propaganda. In addition, he felt isolated in a culture which rejected established musical traditions, and a general feeling of alienation finally prompted him to leave the Soviet Union in 1928.

Glazunov's life in exile, which included an unsuccessful tour of the United States, was difficult but did not suppress his creative energy. He traveled around the world for several years, eventually settling in Paris. Music composed during this period includes the Concerto-Ballata for Cello and Orchestra and the Concerto for Alto Saxophone and Strings, a standard work of the saxophone repertoire. Passionately interested in the distinctive characteristics of the instruments he composed for, Glazunov learned to play a variety of instruments, including, in addition to the obligatory piano, violin, cello, trumpet, trombone, French horn, clarinet, as well as several percussion instruments. Consequently, each of his concertos reflects a deep understanding of the instrument's nature and technical capabilities. Critics have reproached Glazunov for being too Western and insufficiently Russian. True, there are few traces in his music of Russian folk influences. However, while Glazunov's music certainly fits into the cosmopolitan culture of his time, it also embodies the unmistakable emotional and spiritual qualities which the attentive listener will recognize as Russian. ~ Zoran Minderovic, All Music Guide