Glazunov: Symphony No. 5; The Seasons
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Composer: Alexander GlazunovConductor: Jos? Serebrier
Orchestra: Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2004-09-28
Music Label: Warner Classics
Soundtracks:
- I. Moderato - Maestoso - Allegro
- II. Scherzo: Moderato
- III. Andante
- IV. Allegro - Maestoso
- Introduction
- Scene
- Variation 1: Frost
- Variation 2: Ice
- Variation 3: Hail
- Variation 4: Snow
- Spring
- Scene
- Waltz Of The Cornflowers And Poppies
- Barcarolle
- Variation: The Ear Of Corn
- Coda
- Bacchanale
- Petit Adagio
- Variation: The Satyr
Free Music Notes for Glazunov: Symphony No. 5; The Seasons
Free Music Review: Not Just Pyotr's Second Fiddle
Hit: 5 Stars
Imagine being asked to write dance music for St. Petersburg's Imperial Ballet when all the previous guy had done was Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker.
Yet in The Seasons, Alexander Glazunov doesn't simply play second fiddle to Tchaikovsky. The one-act ballet (1900) offers many highlights: the mischievous bassoons in the "Hail" section of "Winter"; the exuberant waltz of "Spring"; the la-dee-dah-dah flutes and swirling violins of the famous "Dance of the Cornflowers and Poppies" in "Summer." And while the stately "Bacchanale" theme memorably dominates "Autumn," what lingers after repeated listenings is the responsiveness of the Scots' strings during the lush lullaby melodies of the "Petit Adagio."
In the Adagio of the Fifth Symphony (1895), after foreboding horns interrupt the rich orchestration of the theme that enters midway through, Glazunov unites the brass and string sections to achieve a moving resolution. The final movement is a rondo that starts out energetically and then, with the propulsion of the trumpets, accelerates even more.
By resurrecting a symphony other than the Fourth, Jose Serebrier demonstrates that Glazunov is more than just a lesser Tchaikovsky.
Glazunov: Symphony No. 5; The Seasons Poster
Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936) was a prodigy composer, whose first symphony was performed when he was 16. An adherent of the Russian Nationalist school in his youth, he later developed a more conservative, European style. Today he is known chiefly for his violin concerto and a few ballet scores, and for his devoted, successful Directorship of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where Shostakovich was among his students. However, although his music is not arrestingly original, his technical mastery and melodic inventiveness are admirable, manifesting spontaneous talent as well as disciplined training. The two works on this record bear this out. Both have clear formal structures and are remarkable for their brilliant orchestration, which sparkles and glitters with myriad colors. This is especially striking in the one-act ballet, The Seasons, where Glazunov uses instrumental timbres--trilling flutes, mellow horns, stratospheric violins--to depict the changing events of nature: hail, snowflakes, frost, bright sunshine, falling leaves. There is a lilting Barcarolle, several wild Bacchanales, and some lovely flower-waltzes naturally reminiscent of Tchaikovsky. The Symphony, a weightier piece, opens with a slow, stately introduction, a broad theme in unison strings (with strong echoes of Wagner's Rheingold motive), whose elements, varied and developed with great skill and imagination, provide the material for the entire movement. The G minor Scherzo has Mendelssohnian lightness and delicacy, with tinkling flutes and percussion and bouncy, skittering strings; the Trio is a dance, robust but still gracious, with--finally--a Russian flavor. The slow movement, after a harmonically ambiguous start, settles into dark, warm E-flat major with a soaring, ecstatic melody over repeated tonal chords, punctuated by interludes of low brass alternating with high woodwinds. The Finale seems least inspired: a rhythmic, slightly raucous, jubilant dance, it ends with a triumphant crash. The orchestra's excellent performance proves that these two unfamiliar works are well worth closer acquaintance. --Edith EislerClassical Music CDs
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