Alexander Glazunov

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Alexander Glazunov was a Russian composer, teacher and conductor of the late Romantic era. He was born in St Petersburg in 1865, the son of a wealthy publisher. He began piano lessons at nine and started composing at eleven. Mily Balakirev brought his work to the attention of Rimsky-Korsakov, who gave him private lessons. In 1882 Rimsky-Korsakov conducted his first orchestral work, when Glazunov was sixteen. Borodin and Vladimir Stasov praised him lavishly. Later, the timber merchant Mitrofan Belyayev helped him with publications and concerts.

Music and breakthrough

Glazunov wrote eight completed symphonies. His most popular works are the ballets The Seasons and Raymonda, a few of the later symphonies and his Violin Concerto, a favourite of Jascha Heifetz. He gained international recognition and in 1889 conducted his Second Symphony in Paris. From 1905 to 1928 he directed the St Petersburg Conservatory. The best-known student of that period was Dmitri Shostakovich. In 1928 he travelled to Europe and the United States, and he settled in Paris, where he died in 1936.

Influence

Glazunov brought together nationalism and international style. He followed Balakirev but stood closer to the epic grandeur of Borodin, and he took on the orchestral colour of Rimsky-Korsakov and the melody of Tchaikovsky. Younger composers such as Prokofiev and Shostakovich found his work old-fashioned, but he remained a steadying presence in a turbulent age.

Listening