Alexander Glazunov

Late Romantic · 1865–1936

Alexander Glazunov grew up in St. Petersburg, the son of a wealthy book publisher, and studied privately with Rimsky-Korsakov, who marveled at how fast the boy improved. His First Symphony was performed publicly when he was sixteen. He absorbed the Russian nationalist style of his teachers but smoothed it into something more polished and European: warm, generous symphonies and ballets built with real craftsmanship.

In 1905 he became director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, and he held the school together through war, revolution, and famine, at one point personally looking after a hungry teenage student named Dmitri Shostakovich. He left the Soviet Union in 1928 for a conducting tour and never returned, spending his final years in Paris.

Start with the Violin Concerto in A minor, a compact, songful piece from 1904 that shows him at his most direct, then try the Symphony no. 5.

119 works in the catalog, across 5 genres. Log what you listen to with Opus, the classical music journal for iPhone.

Chamber

String Quintet for 2 violins, viola, and 2 cellos in A major, op. 39
5 Novelettes for String Quartet, op. 15
Albumleaf for Trumpet and Piano in D flat major
Courante for String Quartet in G
Elegy for Cello and Piano in D flat major, op. 17, "Une pensée à Liszt"
Elegy for Viola and Piano in G minor, op. 44
In modo religioso, for trumpet, horn, and 2 trombones in E flat major, op. 38
Mazurka-Oberek, for violin and piano in D
Meditation, for violin and piano in D major, op. 32
Polka in D major, for string quartet
Prelude and Fugue for String Quartet in D minor
Rêverie for Horn and Piano in D flat major, op. 24
String Quartet no. 3 in G major, op. 26, "Slavonic"
String Quartet no. 5 in D minor, op. 70
Suite for String Quartet in C major, op. 35

Keyboard

2 Impromptus, op. 54
2 Pieces, op. 22
2 Poèmes-improvisations
3 Miniatures, op. 42
3 Morceaux, op. 49
3 Pieces, op. 25
3 Études, op. 31
4 Préludes et fugues, op. 101
Fantasy for 2 pianos in F minor, op. 104
Fantasy in G minor, op. 110
Grand Concert Waltz, op. 41
Idylle in F sharp major, op. 103
Nocturne, op. 37
Petite Valse, op. 36
Piano Sonata no. 1 in B flat minor, op. 74
Piano Sonata no. 2 in E minor, op. 75
Prelude and Fugue in D minor, op. 62
Prelude and Fugue in E minor
Prelude and Fugue no. 1 in D major, op. 93
Prelude and Fugue no. 2 in D minor, op. 98
Suite on the name Sascha, op. 2
Theme and Variations in F sharp minor, op. 72
Valse de salon, op. 43
Waltzes on the theme 'Sabela', op. 23

Orchestral

Symphony no. 4 in E flat major, op. 48
Symphony no. 5 in B flat major, op. 55
Symphony no. 7 in F major, op. 77, "Pastoral"
Violin Concerto in A minor, op. 82
2 Pieces, op. 14
2 Preludes, op. 85
Ballade in F major, op. 78
Cantata in Memory of Pushkin's 100th Birthday, for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, op. 65
Carnaval, overture for orchestra in F major, op. 45
Chant du ménéstral, for cello and orchestra in F sharp minor, op. 71, "Minstrel's Song"
Chopiniana Op.46
Concerto ballata, for cello and orchestra in C major, op. 108
Concert Waltz no. 1 in D major, op. 47
Concert Waltz no. 2 in F major, op. 51
Cortège solennel in B flat major, op. 91
Cortège solennel in D major, op. 50
Elegy in C sharp minor/Db, op. 8, "To the Memory of a Hero"
Finnish Fantasy in C major, op. 88
From Darkness to Light, fantasy in B minor/C, op. 53
From the Middle Ages in E major, op. 79
Idyll for Horn and Strings in D
In Memory of Gogol, symphonic prologue in C major, op. 87
Karelian Legend in A minor, op. 99
Lyric Poem in D flat major, op. 12
March on a Russian Theme in E flat major, op. 76
Mazurka in G major, op. 18
Mélodie for cello and orchestra in D major, op. 20, no. 1
Oriental Rhapsody in G major, op. 29
Ouverture solennelle in D major, op. 73
Overture no. 1 on 3 Greek Themes in G minor, op. 3
Overture no. 2 on 3 Greek Themes in D major, op. 6
Pas de caractère in G major, op. 68
Piano Concerto no. 1 in F minor, op. 92
Piano Concerto no. 2 in B major, op. 100
Poème épique in A minor
Romantic Intermezzo in D major, op. 69
Salomé, op. 90
Saxophone Concerto in E flat major, op. 109
Scène dansante in A major, op. 81, "Fortune Telling and Dance"
Scènes de ballet in A major, op. 52
Serenade for orchestra no. 1 in A major, op. 7
Serenade for orchestra no. 2 in F major, op. 11
Song of Destiny, dramatic overture in D major, op. 84
Spring, musical picture in D major, op. 34
Stenka Razin, symphonic poem in B minor, op. 13
Suite caractéristique in D major, op. 9
Symphony no. 1 in E major, op. 5, "Slavyanskaya"
Symphony no. 2 in F sharp minor, op. 16
Symphony no. 3 in D major, op. 33
Symphony no. 6 in C minor, op. 58
Symphony no. 8 in E flat major, op. 83
Symphony no. 9 in D
Sérénade Espagnole, for cello and orchestra in A major, op. 20
The Forest in C sharp minor, op. 19
The King of the Jews, op. 95
The Kremlin, symphonic picture in C and Eb, op. 30
The Sea in E major, op. 28
Triumphal March for Orchestra in E flat major, op. 40
Variations on a Russian Theme
Wedding March in E flat major, op. 21

Stage

Les Ruses d'amour, op. 61 Ballet
Masquerade, op. 102 Incidental music
Raymonda, op. 57 Ballet
The Seasons, op. 67 Ballet

Vocal

2 Songs, for voice and piano, op. 27
5 Romances, for voice and piano, op. 4
6 Songs, for voice and piano, op. 59
6 Songs, for voice and piano, op. 60
Coronation Cantata, for soloists, chorus, and orchestra, op. 56
Do I Hear Your Voice, romance for voice and piano
Ekh tï, pesnya, for soprano, alto and piano, op. 80
Fire of Desire Burns in My Blood
From Hafiz, song for baritone and piano
Having Fallen Asleep in the Flesh
La Primavera d'Or
Masha Is Told Not to Cross the River, for voice and piano
My Songs Are Venemous..., for voice and piano
Shakespeare's Sonnet 66, for voice and piano, "For Restful Death I Cry..."
Stifling!, for voice and piano
The Belle, for voice and piano

Related composers

Keep a listening journal.

Opus is free on the App Store.