Glazunov Symphonies

Alexander Glazounov was one of those composers whose works were universally admired by contemporaries for his mastery of musical forms and orchestral virtuosity, but were considered old-fashioned for much of his life.  His lifetime included acquaintances from his first teacher, Rimsky-Korsakov, to Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.  He had a remarkable memory but suffered from alcoholism.  The disastrous premiere of Rachmaninoff’s First Symphony was attributed in part to Glazunov’s alleged drunkenness on the podium.

José Serebrier spent several years working with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra on this 2-CD set of the first three symphonies, and the unfinished Ninth, and found it a rewarding project on several fronts.  He not only found the composer’s sparse directions on the orchestral scores an opportunity to discover his own messages in the symphonies.  But he also discovered “…that I could communicate through this music; I found a soulmate in its inner logic and sensibility.”

This is a testament to the consistency of Glazunov’s voice, from his early status as a prodigy composer to his final works.