August 10th 1865 - March 21st 1936
Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was a Composer, Pianist and a Conductor. Glazunov, a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, joined the teaching staff of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1899 and after the student protests and turmoil of 1905 was elected director, a position he retained until 1930. Glazunov left Russia in 1928 and remained abroad, chiefly in Paris, until he died in 1936. His affinity for alcohol is cited in most biographies and he is famous for having conducted one of Rachmaninov's Operas while drunk, leading to unjust criticism of Rachmaninov's masterpiece.
His music represents a synthesis between the Russian and the so-called German, the technical assurance introduced by the Rubinstein brothers in the Conservatories of St. Petersburg and of Moscow in the middle of the century. It also reveals the dominant influences of Liszt and Wagner, being characterised by its technicality and wit. He wrote eight symphonies, two piano concertos and a violin concerto, several ballets and orchestral tone poems, as well as chamber music.