Aleksandr Glazunov (1865 - 1936)

Aleksandr Glazunov (1865 - 1936) - photo 1

Aleksandr Glazunov

Aleksandr Konstantinovich Glazunov (russian: Александр Константинович Глазунов) was a Russian late Romantic composer, conductor and teacher.

Glazunov belonged to a well-known dynasty of book publishers in St. Petersburg and showed musical ability early on. He studied music with Balakirev and Rimsky-Korsakov, wrote his first symphony at the age of sixteen, and was noticed by the patron of the arts Mitrofan Belyaev, who became his admirer and benefactor. Thanks to him, the young Glazunov traveled all over Europe and was introduced in Weimar to Franz Liszt, who promoted the performance of his First Symphony at the congress of the General German Musical Union.

After the death of composer Borodin, Glazunov helped Rimsky-Korsakov finish his opera Prince Igor, and in the late 1890s he was already collaborating with the Imperial Theaters and writing three ballets. In 1899 Glazunov was appointed professor at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and from the end of 1905 he became its director, retaining this post even after the October Revolution of 1917. Glazunov's personality is characterized by the fact that he spent his director's salary on helping poor students. And in general, during the hungry years of post-revolutionary devastation, he supported students, even if he did not share their musical beliefs - among them the greats Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich.

In 1922, Aleksandr Glazunov was named People's Artist of the young Soviet republic. In 1928 he traveled to Vienna to take part in the jury of the Schubert Centenary Composition Competition and never returned to the USSR. However, even while living in Europe, he retained his Soviet citizenship. Officially, Glazunov's stay in Paris was explained by his serious state of health and the need for medical treatment. Already in 1972 Glazunov's ashes were transported to the USSR and reburied in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

In addition to ballets, Aleksandr Glazunov wrote eight symphonies (the ninth remained unfinished), seven string quartets and a great deal of orchestral music. He wrote mainly for piano and organ, and at the end of his life he composed works for saxophone - a solo concerto and a quartet for saxophones. Glazunov's most popular works today are his ballets The Seasons (1898) and Raymonda (1897), his Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Symphonies, the Polonaise from Les Sylphides, and his two concert waltzes.

Date and place of birt:10 august 1865, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire
Date and place of death:21 march 1936, Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Period of activity: XIX, XX century
Specialization:Composer, Educator
Art style:Romanticism

Creators Romanticism

William Potts (1859 - 1947)
William Potts
1859 - 1947
Konstantin Daniel Rosenthal (1820 - 1851)
Konstantin Daniel Rosenthal
1820 - 1851
Johann Christian Reinhart (1761 - 1847)
Johann Christian Reinhart
1761 - 1847
Kapiton Alekseevich Zelentsov (1790 - 1845)
Kapiton Alekseevich Zelentsov
1790 - 1845
Frederick Nash (1782 - 1856)
Frederick Nash
1782 - 1856
Alfred de Dreux (1810 - 1860)
Alfred de Dreux
1810 - 1860
Eduard Schleich I (1812 - 1874)
Eduard Schleich I
1812 - 1874
Max Schmidt (1818 - 1901)
Max Schmidt
1818 - 1901
Augustus Wijnantz (1795 - 1848)
Augustus Wijnantz
1795 - 1848
Axel Thorsen Schovelin (1827 - 1893)
Axel Thorsen Schovelin
1827 - 1893
Abraham Hulk II (1851 - 1922)
Abraham Hulk II
1851 - 1922
Ferdinand Keller (1842 - 1922)
Ferdinand Keller
1842 - 1922
Marie Jules Justin (1847 - 1891)
Marie Jules Justin
1847 - 1891
Niccolò Paganini (1782 - 1840)
Niccolò Paganini
1782 - 1840
Karl Kuntz (1770 - 1830)
Karl Kuntz
1770 - 1830
Abraham Teerlink II (1776 - 1857)
Abraham Teerlink II
1776 - 1857