Glazunov, Aleksandr

Glazunov, Aleksandr (Konstantinovich)

(born Aug. 10, 1865, St. Petersburg, Russia—died March 21, 1936, Paris, France) Russian composer. A compositional prodigy, he achieved success with his Symphony No. 1 at age 16. He became a protégé of the art patron M.P. Belyayev, who took him to western Europe; there he began to build an international reputation. He became director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1905. Though honoured by the government after the revolution, from 1928 he lived largely abroad. His music is generally conservative and Romantic. His works include the ballets Raymonda (1897) and The Seasons (1899); eight symphonies; concertos for piano (two), violin, and saxophone; and many orchestral tone poems and suites.