Glazunov: The Seasons, Op. 67

Alexander Glazunov (1865-1936), by virtue of his dates and the fact that he continued to compose into the 1930s, only narrowly qualifies for inclusion in a series devoted to 20th century music. Musically his style looks back to the previous century when Balakirev, Rimsky-Korsakov and Borodin held sway in Imperial Russia. At that time Glazunov represented an effective bridge between their nationlist tendencies and the more cosmopolitan outlook of Tchaikovsky. Without doubt two of Glazunov's most popular works are the ballets, Raymonda and The Seasons, both contained in this set. These two works amply illustrate the composers gift for melody and a well-turned musical phrase, and deserve their place in the popular ballet repertoire. This recording of the symphonic poem Stenka Razin is being released here in stereo and on CD for the very first time. Stenka Razin was a 17th century Cossack who rebelled against the Tsarist régime at the time. He was executed in 1672 and thus became a Russian national hero. The Concerto Ballata was written in 1931 and is one of the composer's final works.

Recording producers: John Culshaw (Glazunov); Victor Olof (Liszt); Ray Minshull (Ravel, Weber, Falla); Michael Williamson (Adam)

Recording engineers: Roy Wallace (Glazunov); James Brown (Liszt); Kenneth Wilkinson (Ravel, Weber, Falla); Ken Cress (Adam)

Recording locations: La Maison de la Mutualité, Paris, France, September 1954 (Liszt), May 1956 (Glazunov), October & November 1957 (Adam); La Maison de la Chimie, Paris, France, November 1958 (Ravel, Weber, Falla)

The recorded legacy of Albert Wolff is one of the most sought-after by collectors. Of Dutch parentage, but born in Paris, Wolff was something of a polymath: pianist, organist, conductor, composer, and had a long career in recording studios beginning in 1920. His first recordings for Decca, starting in the summer of 1951, were a complete Carmen (with Suzanne Juyol), a Manon (with Janine Micheau) as well as several French orchestral suites and individual pieces. By reciprocal arrangement with RCA that Decca had at the time, the abridged version of Giselle was issued on RCA in 1959 and had to wait fourteen years for its appearance on Decca, when it appeared on its ‘Eclipse’ imprint in 1973. This collection brings together balletic works by Glazunov, Ravel, Weber and Falla, together with Liszt’s Second Hungarian Rhapsody.

Glazunov’s ballet music continued the tradition of Tchaikovsky’s “symphonic ballets”. The Seasons was ordered by Ivan Vsevolozhsky, the director of the Imperial Theatres, and completed in 1900 to be choreographed by Marius Petipa at the St. Petersburg’s Hermitage Theatre. Conceived as an allegory of Nature with its eternal cycle of youth, growing and ageing, the ballet did not see a proper stage production when the composer was around, but its music enjoyed popularity very quickly.

The suite Chopiniana, an orchestration of diverse pieces by Chopin, was composed in 1892. Sharing the love of many Russian composers for Chopin’s music, Glazunov displayed a magnificent sense of style and orchestral skills. The piano pieces did not become any heavier but got a new sound in a new facet. The Ballet master Michel Fokine made use of the suite fifteen years later when he created his famous ballet performance. Glazunov’s works were recorded by the celebrated Soviet symphony orchestras led by the prominent conductors of the 20th century Boris Khaikin and Evgeny Svetlanov.

Recorded in 1956