Glazunov: Symphonies Nos. 1 And 4

Description

Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov (1865-1936) Symphony No. 1 in E major, Op. 5 'Slavyanskaya' Symphony No. 4 in E nat major, Op. 48It is becoming increasingly unnecessary to defend the reputation ofGlazunov. He belonged to a generation of Russian composers that was able tobenefit from more professional standards of compositional technique, absorbingand helping to create a synthesis of the national, that might sometimes beexpressed crudely enough, and the technique of the conservatories, that might sometimesseem facile. Glazunov worked closely with Rimsky-Korsakov, to whom Balakirev,his mother's teacher, had recommended him, and played an important part in theeducation of a new generation of Russian composers such as Shostakovich.Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was born in St Petersburg in 1865,the son of a publisher and bookseller. As a child he showed considerablemusical ability and in 1879 met Balakirev and hence Rimsky-Korsakov. By the ageof sixteen he had finished the first of his nine symphonies, which wasperformed under the direction of Balakirev, whose influence is perceptible inthe work. The relationship with Balakirev was not to continue. The richtimber-merchant Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev had been present at the firstperformance of the symphony and travelled to Moscow to hear Rimsky-Korsakovconduct a second performance there. He attended the Moscow rehearsals and hismeeting with Rimsky-Korsakov was the beginning of a new informal association ofRussian composers, perceived by Balakirev as a threat to his own position andinfluence, as self-appointed mentor of the Russian nationalist composers.Glazunov became part of Belyayev's circle, attending his Friday evenings withRimsky-Korsakov, rather than Balakirev's Tuesday evening meetings. Belyayevtook Glazunov, in 1884, to meet Liszt in Weimar, where the First Symphony wasperformed.In 1899 Glazunov joined the staff of the Conservatory in St Petersburg,but by this time his admiration for his teacher seems to have cooled. Rimsky-Korsakov'swife was later to remark on Glazunov's admiration for Tchaikovsky and Brahms,suspecting in this the influence of Taneyev and of the critic Laroche, championof Tchaikovsky and a strong opponent of the nationalists, a man described byRimsky-Korsakov as the Russian equivalent of Hanslick in Vienna, a comparisonthat, from him, was not entirely complimentary.Glazunov, however, remained a colleague and friend of Rimsky-Korsakov,and demonstrated this after the political disturbance of 1905, when the latterhad signed a letter of protest at the suppression of some element of democracyin Russia and had openly sympathized with Conservatory students who had joinedliberal protests against official policies. Rimsky-Korsakov was dismissed fromthe Conservatory, to be reinstated by Glazunov, elected director of aninstitution that, in the aftermath, had now won a measure of autonomy. Glazunovremained director of the Conservatory until 1930.It says much for the esteem in whic