Reinhold Glière
Encyclopedia
Reinhold Moritzevich Glière (23 June 1956) was a Russian
and Soviet
composer of German–Polish descent.
, Ukraine
(then in the Kiev Governorate
of the Russian Empire
). He was the second son of the wind instrument maker Ernst Moritz Glier (1834–1896) from Saxony
, who emigrated to the Russian Empire
and married Józefa (Josephine) Korczak (1849–1935), the daughter of his master, from Warsaw
, Poland. His original name, as given in his baptism certificate, was Reinhold Ernst Glier. About 1900 he changed the spelling and pronunciation of his surname to Glière, which gave rise to the legend, stated by Leonid Sabaneyev
for the first time (1927), of his French or Belgian
descent.
He entered the Kiev school of music in 1891, where he was taught violin by Otakar Ševčík
, among others. In 1894 Glière entered the Moscow Conservatory
where he studied with Sergei Taneyev
(counterpoint), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
(composition), Jan Hřímalý
(violin; he dedicated his Octet for Strings, Op. 5, to Hřímalý), Anton Arensky
and Georgi Konjus (both harmony
). He graduated in 1900, having composed a one-act opera
Earth and Heaven (after Lord Byron
) and received a gold medal in composition. In the following year Glière accepted a teaching post at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music
. Taneyev found two private pupils for him in 1902: Nikolai Myaskovsky
and the eleven-year old Sergei Prokofiev
, whom Glière taught on Prokofiev's parental estate Sontsovka. Glière studied conducting with Oskar Fried
in Berlin from 1905 to 1908. One of his co-students was Serge Koussevitzky, who conducted the premiere of Glière's Symphony No. 2, Op. 25, on 23 January 1908 in Berlin. Back in Moscow, Glière returned again to the Gnesin School. In the following years Glière composed the symphonic poem
Sireny, Op. 33 (1908), the programme symphony Ilya Muromets, Op. 42 (1911) and the ballet
-pantomime Chrizis, Op. 65 (1912). In 1913 he gained an appointment to the school of music in Kiev, which was raised to the status of conservatory shortly after, as Kiev Conservatory
. A year later he was appointed director. In Kiev he taught among others Levko (Lev) Revoutski
, Borys Lyatoshynsky and Vladimir Dukelsky (who became well-known in the West as Vernon Duke
).
In 1920 Glière moved to the Moscow Conservatory where he (intermittently) taught until 1941. Boris Alexandrov
, Aram Khachaturian
, Alexander Davidenko, Lev Knipper
and Alexander Mosolov
were some of his pupils from the Moscow era. For some years he held positions in the organization Proletkul't and worked with the People's Commissariat for Education. The theatre was in the centre of his work now. In 1923 Glière was invited by the Azerbaijan
People's Commissariat of Education to come to Baku
and compose the prototype of an Azerbaijani national opera. The result of his ethnographical research was the opera Shakh-Senem, now considered the cornerstone of the Soviet-Azerbaijan national opera tradition. Here the musical legacy of the Russian classics from Glinka
to Scriabin
is combined with folk song
material and some symphonic orientalisms. In 1927, inspired by the ballerina Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (1876–1962), he wrote the music for the ballet Krasny mak (The Red Poppy
), later revised, to avoid the connotation of opium
, as Krasny tsvetok (The Red Flower, 1955). The Red Poppy was praised "as the first Soviet ballet
on a revolutionary subject". Perhaps this was his most famous work in Russia as well as abroad. One number from the score, his arrangement of an old Russian folk song Yablochko ("little apple") consists of an introduction, a basso statement of the theme, and a series of increasingly frenetic variations ending with a powerful orchestral climax. It is identified in the ballet score by its almost equally well-known name, the Russian Sailor's Dance. It is probably his best-known single piece, and is still heard at symphony concerts around the world, frequently as an encore. The ballet-pantomime Chrizis was revised just after The Red Poppy, in the late 1920s, followed by the popular ballet Comedians after Lope de Vega
(1931, later re-written and re-named The Daughter from Castile).
After 1917 Glière never visited the West as some other Soviet composers did. He gave concerts in Siberia
and other remote areas of the Soviet Union instead. He was working in Uzbekistan
as a "musical development helper" at the end of the 1930s. From this time emerged the "drama with music" Gyulsara and the opera Leyli va Medzhnun, both composed with the Uzbek Talib Sadykov (1907–1957). From 1938 to 1948 Glière was Chairman of the Organization Committee of the Soviet Composers Association
. Before the revolution Glière had already been honoured three times with the Glinka prize
. During his last few years he was very often awarded: Azerbaijan (1934), the Russian Soviet Republic (1936), Uzbekistan (1937) and the USSR (1938) appointed him Artist of the People
. The title "Doctor of Art Sciences" was awarded to him in 1941. He won first degree Stalin Prizes
: in 1946 (Concerto for Voice and Orchestra), 1948 (Fourth String Quartet), and 1950 (The Bronze Horseman).
As Taneyev's pupil and an 'associated' member of the circle around the Petersburg publisher Mitrofan Belyayev
, it appeared Glière was destined to be a chamber musician. In 1902 Arensky wrote about the Sextet, Op. 1, "one recognizes Taneyev easily as a model and this does praise Glière". Unlike Taneyev, Glière felt more attracted to the national Russian tradition as he was taught by Rimsky-Korsakov's pupils Ippolitov-Ivanov and Arensky. Alexander Glazunov
even certified an "obtrusively Russian style" to Glière's 1st Symphony. After all he finds with the 3rd Symphony Ilya Muromets a synthesis between national Russian tradition and impressionistic refinement. The première was in Moscow in 1912, and it resulted in the award of the Glinka Prize. The symphony depicts in four tableaux the adventures and death of the Russian hero Ilya Muromets
. This work was widely performed, in Russia and abroad, and earned him world-wide renown. It became one of the favourite items in the extensive repertoire of Leopold Stokowski
, who made, with Glière's approval, an abridged version, shortened to around the half the length of the original. Today's cult status of Ilya Muromets is based not least on the pure dimensions of the original 80 minute work, but Ilya Muromets demonstrates the high level of Glière's artistry. The work has a comparatively modern tonal language, massive Wagnerian
instrumentation and long lyrical lines.
Notwithstanding his political engagement after the October revolution Glière kept out of the ideological ditch war between the Association for Contemporary Music (ASM) and the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians
(RAPM) during the late 1920s. Glière concentrated primarily on composing monumental operas, ballets, and cantata
s. His symphonic idiom, which combined broad Slavonic
epics with cantabile lyricism, is governed by rich, colourful harmony, bright and well-balanced orchestral colours and perfect traditional forms. Obviously this secured his acceptance by Tsarist and Soviet authorities, at the same time creating resentment from many composers who suffered intensely under the Soviet regime. As the latter genuine representative of the pre-revolutionary national Russian school, i.e. as a 'living classic', Glière was immune to the standard reproach of "formalism" (mostly equivalent to "modernity" or "bourgeois decadence"). Thus the infamous events of 1936 and 1948 passed Glière by.
The concerti for harp (Op. 74, 1938), coloratura soprano (Op. 82, 1943), cello (Op. 87, 1946, dedicated to Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
), and horn (Op. 91, 1951, dedicated to Valery Polekh
), which attained popularity also in the West, have to be mentioned as 'virtuoso use music'. Nearly unexplored are Glière's educational compositions, his chamber works, piano pieces and songs from his time at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music.
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
composer of German–Polish descent.
Biography
Glière was born in KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
(then in the Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate
Kiev Governorate , or Government of Kiev, was an administrative division of the Russian Empire.The governorate was established in 1708 along with seven other governorates and was transformed into a viceroyalty in 1781...
of the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
). He was the second son of the wind instrument maker Ernst Moritz Glier (1834–1896) from Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
, who emigrated to the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
and married Józefa (Josephine) Korczak (1849–1935), the daughter of his master, from Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
, Poland. His original name, as given in his baptism certificate, was Reinhold Ernst Glier. About 1900 he changed the spelling and pronunciation of his surname to Glière, which gave rise to the legend, stated by Leonid Sabaneyev
Leonid Sabaneyev
Leonid Leonidovich Sabaneyev or Sabaneyeff or Sabaneev was a Russian musicologist, music critic, composer and scientist.-Biography:...
for the first time (1927), of his French or Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
descent.
He entered the Kiev school of music in 1891, where he was taught violin by Otakar Ševčík
Otakar Ševcík
Otakar Ševčík was a Czech violinist and influential teacher. He was known as a soloist and an ensemble player, including his occasional performances with Eugène Ysaÿe.-Biography:...
, among others. In 1894 Glière entered the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
where he studied with Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Taneyev
Sergei Ivanovich Taneyev , was a Russian composer, pianist, teacher of composition, music theorist and author.-Life:...
(counterpoint), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Ippolitov-Ivanov was a Russian composer, conductor and teacher.- Biography :...
(composition), Jan Hřímalý
Jan Hřímalý
Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý Jan Hřímalý (also seen as Ivan Voitsekhovich Grzhimali (Иван Войцехович Гржимали (13 April 1844 – 11/24 January 1915) was an influential Czech violinist and teacher, who was associated with the Moscow Conservatory for 46 years 1869-1915....
(violin; he dedicated his Octet for Strings, Op. 5, to Hřímalý), Anton Arensky
Anton Arensky
Anton Stepanovich Arensky -Biography:Arensky was born in Novgorod, Russia. He was musically precocious and had composed a number of songs and piano pieces by the age of nine...
and Georgi Konjus (both harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
). He graduated in 1900, having composed a one-act opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
Earth and Heaven (after Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
) and received a gold medal in composition. In the following year Glière accepted a teaching post at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music
Gnessin State Musical College
The Gnessin State Musical College and Gnessin Russian Academy of Music is a prominent music school in Moscow, Russia...
. Taneyev found two private pupils for him in 1902: Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is sometimes referred to as the "father of the Soviet symphony".-Early years and first important works:...
and the eleven-year old Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
, whom Glière taught on Prokofiev's parental estate Sontsovka. Glière studied conducting with Oskar Fried
Oskar Fried
Oskar Fried was a German conductor and composer. An admirer of Gustav Mahler, Fried was the first conductor to record a Mahler symphony...
in Berlin from 1905 to 1908. One of his co-students was Serge Koussevitzky, who conducted the premiere of Glière's Symphony No. 2, Op. 25, on 23 January 1908 in Berlin. Back in Moscow, Glière returned again to the Gnesin School. In the following years Glière composed the symphonic poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
Sireny, Op. 33 (1908), the programme symphony Ilya Muromets, Op. 42 (1911) and the ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
-pantomime Chrizis, Op. 65 (1912). In 1913 he gained an appointment to the school of music in Kiev, which was raised to the status of conservatory shortly after, as Kiev Conservatory
Kiev Conservatory
The Tchaikovsky National Academy of Music is a Ukrainian state institution of higher music education. Its courses include postgraduate education.-History:...
. A year later he was appointed director. In Kiev he taught among others Levko (Lev) Revoutski
Levko Revutsky
Levko Mykolajovych Revutskyi was a Ukrainian composer, teacher, and activist. Amongst his students at the Lysenko Music Institute were the composers Arkady Filippenko and Valentin Silvestrov.-Early life and education:...
, Borys Lyatoshynsky and Vladimir Dukelsky (who became well-known in the West as Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke
Vernon Duke was a Russian-American composer/songwriter, who also wrote under his original name Vladimir Dukelsky. He is best known for "Taking a Chance on Love" with lyrics by Ted Fetter and John Latouche, "I Can't Get Started" with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, "April in Paris" with lyrics by E. Y...
).
In 1920 Glière moved to the Moscow Conservatory where he (intermittently) taught until 1941. Boris Alexandrov
Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov
Major General Boris Alexandrovich Alexandrov was a Soviet Russian composer, and, from 1946 to 1986, the second head of the Alexandrov Ensemble which was founded by his father, Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov...
, Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
, Alexander Davidenko, Lev Knipper
Lev Knipper
Lev Konstantinovich Knipper , a Russian composer of partially German descent and an active OGPU - NKVD agent.Lev Knipper was the nephew of the actress Olga Knipper...
and Alexander Mosolov
Alexander Mosolov
Alexander Vasilyevich MosolovMosolov's name is transliterated variously and inconsistently between sources. Alternative spellings of Alexander include Alexandr, Aleksandr, Aleksander, and Alexandre; variations on Mosolov include Mossolov and Mossolow...
were some of his pupils from the Moscow era. For some years he held positions in the organization Proletkul't and worked with the People's Commissariat for Education. The theatre was in the centre of his work now. In 1923 Glière was invited by the Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan , officially the Republic of Azerbaijan is the largest country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to...
People's Commissariat of Education to come to Baku
Baku
Baku , sometimes spelled as Baki or Bakou, is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. It is located on the southern shore of the Absheron Peninsula, which projects into the Caspian Sea. The city consists of two principal...
and compose the prototype of an Azerbaijani national opera. The result of his ethnographical research was the opera Shakh-Senem, now considered the cornerstone of the Soviet-Azerbaijan national opera tradition. Here the musical legacy of the Russian classics from Glinka
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
to Scriabin
Alexander Scriabin
Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin was a Russian composer and pianist who initially developed a lyrical and idiosyncratic tonal language inspired by the music of Frédéric Chopin. Quite independent of the innovations of Arnold Schoenberg, Scriabin developed an increasingly atonal musical system,...
is combined with folk song
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
material and some symphonic orientalisms. In 1927, inspired by the ballerina Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer (1876–1962), he wrote the music for the ballet Krasny mak (The Red Poppy
The Red Poppy
The Red Poppy or sometimes The Red Flower is a ballet in three acts and an apotheosis; score written by Reinhold Glière and a scenario by Mikhail Kurilko. This ballet was created in 1927 as the first Soviet ballet with a modern revolutionary theme....
), later revised, to avoid the connotation of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, as Krasny tsvetok (The Red Flower, 1955). The Red Poppy was praised "as the first Soviet ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
on a revolutionary subject". Perhaps this was his most famous work in Russia as well as abroad. One number from the score, his arrangement of an old Russian folk song Yablochko ("little apple") consists of an introduction, a basso statement of the theme, and a series of increasingly frenetic variations ending with a powerful orchestral climax. It is identified in the ballet score by its almost equally well-known name, the Russian Sailor's Dance. It is probably his best-known single piece, and is still heard at symphony concerts around the world, frequently as an encore. The ballet-pantomime Chrizis was revised just after The Red Poppy, in the late 1920s, followed by the popular ballet Comedians after Lope de Vega
Lope de Vega
Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...
(1931, later re-written and re-named The Daughter from Castile).
After 1917 Glière never visited the West as some other Soviet composers did. He gave concerts in Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
and other remote areas of the Soviet Union instead. He was working in Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
as a "musical development helper" at the end of the 1930s. From this time emerged the "drama with music" Gyulsara and the opera Leyli va Medzhnun, both composed with the Uzbek Talib Sadykov (1907–1957). From 1938 to 1948 Glière was Chairman of the Organization Committee of the Soviet Composers Association
Union of Soviet Composers
The USSR Union of Composers or Union of Composers of the USSR , , was a professional organisation of composers in the Soviet Union...
. Before the revolution Glière had already been honoured three times with the Glinka prize
State Prizes of the Soviet Republics
The State Prizes of the Soviet Republics were each republic counterpart to the USSR State Prize. Each republic granted several different prizes, generally named after writers or artists from the republic, as well as a blanket Komsomol prize for young artists....
. During his last few years he was very often awarded: Azerbaijan (1934), the Russian Soviet Republic (1936), Uzbekistan (1937) and the USSR (1938) appointed him Artist of the People
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
. The title "Doctor of Art Sciences" was awarded to him in 1941. He won first degree Stalin Prizes
USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....
: in 1946 (Concerto for Voice and Orchestra), 1948 (Fourth String Quartet), and 1950 (The Bronze Horseman).
As Taneyev's pupil and an 'associated' member of the circle around the Petersburg publisher Mitrofan Belyayev
Mitrofan Belyayev
Mitrofan Petrovich Belyayev was a Russian music publisher, outstanding philanthropist, and the owner of a large wood dealership enterprise in Russia. He was also the founder of the Belyayev circle, a society of musicians in Russia whose members included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov...
, it appeared Glière was destined to be a chamber musician. In 1902 Arensky wrote about the Sextet, Op. 1, "one recognizes Taneyev easily as a model and this does praise Glière". Unlike Taneyev, Glière felt more attracted to the national Russian tradition as he was taught by Rimsky-Korsakov's pupils Ippolitov-Ivanov and Arensky. Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Glazunov
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was a Russian composer of the late Russian Romantic period, music teacher and conductor...
even certified an "obtrusively Russian style" to Glière's 1st Symphony. After all he finds with the 3rd Symphony Ilya Muromets a synthesis between national Russian tradition and impressionistic refinement. The première was in Moscow in 1912, and it resulted in the award of the Glinka Prize. The symphony depicts in four tableaux the adventures and death of the Russian hero Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets
Ilya Muromets is a Kievan Rus' epic hero. He is celebrated in numerous byliny . Along with Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich he is regarded as the greatest of all the legendary bogatyrs...
. This work was widely performed, in Russia and abroad, and earned him world-wide renown. It became one of the favourite items in the extensive repertoire of Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
, who made, with Glière's approval, an abridged version, shortened to around the half the length of the original. Today's cult status of Ilya Muromets is based not least on the pure dimensions of the original 80 minute work, but Ilya Muromets demonstrates the high level of Glière's artistry. The work has a comparatively modern tonal language, massive Wagnerian
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
instrumentation and long lyrical lines.
Notwithstanding his political engagement after the October revolution Glière kept out of the ideological ditch war between the Association for Contemporary Music (ASM) and the Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians
Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians
The Russian Association of Proletarian Musicians or RAPM was a musicians' creative union of the early Soviet period.In 1932 it was disbanded, together with other unions, such as RAPP, by The Decree on the Reformation of Literary and Artistic Organizations on April 23, 1932....
(RAPM) during the late 1920s. Glière concentrated primarily on composing monumental operas, ballets, and cantata
Cantata
A cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
s. His symphonic idiom, which combined broad Slavonic
Slavic peoples
The Slavic people are an Indo-European panethnicity living in Eastern Europe, Southeast Europe, North Asia and Central Asia. The term Slavic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people, who speak languages belonging to the Slavic language family and share, to varying degrees, certain...
epics with cantabile lyricism, is governed by rich, colourful harmony, bright and well-balanced orchestral colours and perfect traditional forms. Obviously this secured his acceptance by Tsarist and Soviet authorities, at the same time creating resentment from many composers who suffered intensely under the Soviet regime. As the latter genuine representative of the pre-revolutionary national Russian school, i.e. as a 'living classic', Glière was immune to the standard reproach of "formalism" (mostly equivalent to "modernity" or "bourgeois decadence"). Thus the infamous events of 1936 and 1948 passed Glière by.
The concerti for harp (Op. 74, 1938), coloratura soprano (Op. 82, 1943), cello (Op. 87, 1946, dedicated to Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Sviatoslav Knushevitsky
Sviatoslav Nikolayevich Knushevitsky was a Russian classical cellist. He was particularly noted for his partnership with the violinist David Oistrakh and the pianist Lev Oborin in a renowned piano trio from 1940 until his death...
), and horn (Op. 91, 1951, dedicated to Valery Polekh
Valery Polekh
Valery Vladimirovich Polekh was a Russian horn player. The horn concerto, Op.91 by Reinhold Glière was dedicated to him.-External links:****...
), which attained popularity also in the West, have to be mentioned as 'virtuoso use music'. Nearly unexplored are Glière's educational compositions, his chamber works, piano pieces and songs from his time at the Moscow Gnesin School of Music.
Honours and awards
- Three Glinka Awards (not Glinka PrizesGlinka State Prize of the RSFSRThe Glinka State Prize of the RSFSR was a prize awarded to musicians of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic from 1965-1990....
)
- 1905 - for the first sextet (nominated by Glazunov, Liadov, Balakirev)
- 1912 - for his symphonic poem "Siren"
- 1914 - for Third Symphony ("Ilya of Murom")
- 1937 - Order of the Red Banner of LabourOrder of the Red Banner of LabourThe Order of the Red Banner of Labour was an order of the Soviet Union for accomplishments in labour and civil service. It is the labour counterpart of the military Order of the Red Banner. A few institutions and factories, being the pride of Soviet Union, also received the order.-History:The Red...
- a musical drama "Gyulsary" - 1938 - Order of the Badge of Honour
- Three Orders of Lenin
- 1937 - Order of the Red Banner of Labour
- 1945 - "for outstanding achievements in the field of music and to honor the 70th anniversary of"
- 1950 - "for outstanding achievements in the field of music and to honor the 75th anniversary of"
- 1955 - "for outstanding achievements in the field of music and to honor the 80th anniversary of"
- Three Stalin Prizes, first class
- 1946 - a concerto for coloratura soprano and orchestra
- 1948 - for the Fourth String Quartet
- 1950 - for the ballet "The Bronze Horseman" (1949)
- Twice Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1925 and 1927)
- People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR (1934) - for "special services to workers and the development of the new Turkic musical culture," for his years of work on the creation of the opera "Shahsanam")
- People's Artist of RSFSR (1935)
- People's Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1937) - for creation of the musical drama "Gyulsary").
- People's Artist of USSR (1938)
List of works
- Orchestral works
- Symphony No 1 in E flat major, Op. 8 (1900)
- Symphony No 2 in C minor, Op. 25 (1907)
- Symphony No 3 (Ilya MurometsIlya MurometsIlya Muromets is a Kievan Rus' epic hero. He is celebrated in numerous byliny . Along with Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich he is regarded as the greatest of all the legendary bogatyrs...
) in B minor, Op. 42 (1911). (Premiere by the Russian Musical SocietyRussian Musical SocietyThe Russian Musical Society was an organisation founded in 1859 by the Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna and her protégé, pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, with the intent of raising the standard of music in the country and disseminating musical education.Rubinstein and the Grand Duchess's...
in Moscow under Emil CooperEmil CooperEmil Albertovich Cooper, also known as Emil Kuper was a Russian conductor and violinist, of English ancestry....
on 23 March 1912.) - Sireny (The Sirens) in F minor, symphonic poem, Op. 33 (1908)
- Zaporozhtsy (The Zaporozhy Cossaks), symphonic poem-ballet, Op. 64 (1921; performed only in concert)
- Na prazdnik Kominterna! (Fantasy for the Komintern-Feast), Fantasy for military wind orchestra (1924)
- Marsh Krasnoy Armii (March of the Red Army) for wind orchestra (1924)
- Symphonic Fragment (1934)
- Geroitshesky marsh Buryatskoy-Mongolskoy ASSR (Heroic March for the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR), C major, Op. 71 (1934–1936)
- Torzhestvennaya uvertyura k 20-letiyu Oktyabrya (Festive Overture for the 20th Anniversary of the October-Revolution), Op. 72 (1937)
- Pokhodny marsh (Field March) for wind orchestra, Op. 76 (1941)
- Druzhba narodov (The friendship of the peoples), Ouverture on the 5th anniversary of the Soviet Constitution, Op. 79 (1941)
- 25 let Krasnoy Armii (25 Years of the Red Army), Overture for wind orchestra, Op. 84 (1943)
- Pobeda (Victory), Overture, Op. 86 (1944); version for wind orchestra, Op. 86a
- Concert Waltz in D flat major, Op. 90 (1950)
- Concerti
- Concerto for harp and orchestra in E flat major, Op. 74 (1938)
- Concerto for coloratura soprano and orchestra in F minor, Op. 82 (1943)
- Concerto for cello and orchestra in D minor, Op. 87 (1946)
- Concerto for horn and orchestra B Flat major, Op. 91 (1951)Horn Concerto (Glière)-Background:Reinhold Glière's Concerto for Horn and Orchestra in B-flat major, Op.91 was completed in 1951. It was premiered on May 10, 1951 by Russian hornist Valery Polekh in Leningrad with the Leningrad Radio Symphony Orchestra....
- Concerto for violin and orchestra (Concerto-Allegro) G minor, Op. 100 (1956), completed and orchestrated by Boris Lyatoshynsky
- Vocal works
- Songs
- Choirs
- Cantatas
- Chamber music
- Intermezzo and Tarantella for double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
and piano, Op. 9 - Praeludium and Scherzo for double bass and piano, Op. 32
- String Quartet No 1 in A major, Op. 2 (1899)
- String Quartet No 2 in G minor, Op. 20 (1905)
- String Quartet No 3 in D minor, Op. 67 (1927)
- String Quartet No 4 in F minor, Op. 83 (1943)
- String Sextet No 1 in C minor, Op. 1 (1898)
- String Sextet No 2 in B minor, Op. 7 (1904)
- String Sextet No 3 in C major, Op. 11 (1904)
- String Octet in D major, Op.5 (1902)
- Duos for various instruments
- Numerous piano pieces
- 12 morceaux for piano 4-hands, Op. 48 (from the Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection)
- 25 preludes for piano, Op. 30 (from the Sibley Music Library Digital Scores Collection)
- Intermezzo and Tarantella for double bass
- Stage music
- Opera
- Gyul'sara, opera, Op. 96 (1936, rev. 1949), co-author Talib Sadykov
- Shakh-Senem, opera, Op. 69 (1923–25)
- Leyli va Medzhnun, [Uzbekian] opera, Op. 94 (1940), co-author Talib Sadykov
- Ballet
- Krasny mak (The Red PoppyThe Red PoppyThe Red Poppy or sometimes The Red Flower is a ballet in three acts and an apotheosis; score written by Reinhold Glière and a scenario by Mikhail Kurilko. This ballet was created in 1927 as the first Soviet ballet with a modern revolutionary theme....
), Op. 70 (1927, rev. 1949 and 1955 Krasny tsvetok (The Red Flower) - Medny vsadnik (The Bronze Horseman; after Alexander Pushkin), Op. 89 (1948/49)
- Komedianty (The Comedians), Op. 68 (1922, rev. 1930 and 1935 as Doch' Kastilii (The Daughter of Castille)
- Taras Bul'ba (after Nikolai GogolNikolai GogolNikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
), Op. 92 (1952)
- Krasny mak (The Red Poppy
- Opera
- Film music