66 September/October 1997

Sixty years ago in thespring of 1936, at the

age of fifty-four, Russiancomposer AlexanderKonstantinovichGlazunov died in hisapartment near Paris. InRussia (at that time it wasthe Soviet Union) lifecontinued in rapidlychanging keys. Stalin’s“Great Terror” keptspreading its wings. In 1936 the news-paper Pravda, (the mouthpiece of theCommunist Party) for the first timeattacked Shostakovich and his music,using it as a lesson to other artistswhose works did not support Commu-nist dogma. New types of music loyalto the regime cultivated the “rightmood.” Names such as symphonyAirmotor by Miaskovsky and sym-phony Red Cavalry by Knipper ap-peared together with eternal themeslike Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev andthe innocent Peter and the Wolf.

The Soviet authorities dictated thecomposition of art for artists who wereinside the then USSR, as well as forthose who emigrated. Glazunov, whofor the last eight years lived in France,kept the Soviet government in a diffi-cult position. Because AlexanderKonstantinovich distanced himselffrom any political stance, the authori-ties were sure that the composer wouldreturn to his homeland. The composerof Russian national music was per-fectly suited for the category of the“Fathers” with the likes of Rimsky-Korsakov, Tchaikovsky, and Glinka.Also, it is well known that when thegovernment organized a balalaikacompetition in the Hall of Petrograd

Conservatory,Glazunov, theprofessor ofcompositionand instrumen-tation, providedfull support andagreed to be ajudge.

So over allthose yearsAlexander

Konstantinovich’s musiccontinued to sound in thehall of Leningrad Conserva-tory named in his honor“Glazunov Concert Hall.”The music was played bythe members of theGlazunov String Quartet.

Glazunov’s emigrant lifestarted on June 15, 1928, when heaccepted an invitation to be a judge atthe Schubert competition in Vienna. Heleft Russia permanently. He traveledaround Europe and finally settled inParis. In that period, the city was amecca for the arts and home to manyRussians. The composer’s series ofillnesses, bronchitis, infection of theinner ear and others, followed immedi-ately. Alexander Konstantinovichwrote petitions, one after another, tothe Communist musical authoritiesciting these illnesses and asking themto extend his absence. Henceforth,conservatory level textbooks in theSoviet Union stated that the last periodof Alexander Konstantinovich’s lifewas very unproductive because of hisillnesses and due to the fact that hewas under the influence of WesternBourgeois culture. This influence wasevidenced by the creation of composi-

tions for bourgeois instruments such asthe saxophone.

In May of 1930, the Soviets officiallyclosed the Iron Curtain, which meantthe end to the trips abroad for citizens.Glazunov probably understood that hewould not be an exception. In thespring of 1929, the newspaperLeningradskaya Pravda printed a noticeby the musical council of LeningradConservatory stating that they werereconsidering Glazunov’s continuationin the post of director. The officialscarefully thought about Glazunov’smusical contribution and decided tohold the current position until thecomposer’s return. Glazunov wasremoved from the post much later.

Glazunov, in spite of his imputed“musical unproductiveness,” was avery active correspondent. A review ofthe complete publication of thecomposer’s documents from the Soviet

by André Sobchenko

Letters From Glazunov“The Saxophone Concerto Years”

Saxophone Journal 67

archives reveals records of originalcorrespondence from Glazunov. Par-ticularly intriguing are the contents ofthe letters related to his saxophonecompositions. Apparently, Glazunovtried to share his new projects withmany of his colleagues. Some of theletters were addressed to MaximilianOseevich Shteinberg who was a profes-sor of composition at St.Petersburg/Leningrad Conservatory. Shteinberg(Rimsky-Korsakov’s son-in-law) wastaking special instrumentation coursesunder the professorship of Glazunov.Many of the letters were written by thecomposer to A.N. Rimsky-Korsakov(son of the famous composer) and toL.V. Nikolaiev with whomShostakovich and Sofronitsky had beenstudying piano. A small part of thecorrespondence was recalled frommemory by Nadezhda NikolayevnaShteinberg and is presented in con-densed form.

Besides piano, AlexanderKonstantinovich was very familiarwith many woodwind and brass in-struments. In his childhood he studiedclarinet, and later he learned to playtrombone, trumpet, cello, viola, andFrench horn. Thirty-two years after

composing his Leaf from anAlbum (trumpet, French horn,two trombones), Glazunovagain began to write music forwind instruments. He startedcomposing a quartet for foursaxophones.

Postcard to MaximilianOseevich Shteinberg(Paris), 21 March 1932I have an idea to write a quar-tet for saxophones. Theseinstruments are distinctivelyaudible; in the orchestra theyeven cover regular woodwindsby their sound. There are greatsaxophone soloists in the bandof the National Guard. Move-ment I is coming to an end, Ihave an idea for II-Canzona.

To I. A. Wolfman(Paris), 9, rue Lemoine,Boulogne sur Seine11 May 1932

Dear Ian Ansovich!Thank you for your kind

holiday greetings. I am sorry I havenot written for so long. I was busycomposing, and I have almost com-pleted a quartet for (?) four saxo-phones. The novelty of this work reallythrills me, because I was formerlywriting only string quartets. I don’tknow how it will sound.

To Shteinberg2 June 1932

Dear Maximilian Oseevich!I received a letter from your sister

who is worried about my health. I amguilty of being quite behind on mycorrespondence;- too much composing.My health continues to be poor. Myswelling on the right foot does notleave me; the skin splits; sometimes ithurts. I walk most of the time wearinglight shoes because I cannot wearboots. In damp weather, my gout painincreases.

I completed a composition for foursaxophones (2 movements alreadyscored and the third is in sketches).Movement I, Allegro B-dur in 3/4 withrhythm: a bit of American!

Movement II, Canzona Variee. Thetheme is built only on harmony; the

first two variations are strict classicalmedieval style. Next follows a varia-tion with trills á la Schumann (akin tohis symphonic etudes), variation á laChopin and Scherzo. The Finale is in afairly playful style. I am afraid thatthis composition will fatigue perform-ers due to its length. I talked to one ofthem, and he assured me.

To I. A. Wolfman(Paris) 9, rue Lemoine, Boulogne s (ur)S (eine)21 June 1932

Pain became unbearable; I am start-ing to lose my strength. I do not goanywhere, and I do not even put onclothes. I cannot even think to leaveParis in such a condition as early asJuly. I have not touched the piano for along time. Thank God I sent the score(for printing) of the saxophone quartetbefore my condition became worse, butwhen will I hear my creation?

To Shteinberg9 December 1932

It seems I shall finally hear my quar-tet next week. I still worry about howmatters will stand with “breathing,”because the number of rests are few,and I wish to achieve full consonance.Although one of the variation has threevoices that are built on organ point.

To A. N. Rimsky-Korsakov9 January 1933

If more gentle instruments like theclarinet family with its bassets andbass clarinets were substituted forsaxophones, it “just would not soundright” as Stasov used to say.

To L. V Nikolayev(Paris) 32, Avenue J B. Clemént,escalier 14, Boulogne s (ur) S (eine),8 March 1933

I heard my quartet of saxophonesfinally with real sound. The separatedparts sound good. I am afraid the(musical) color will be monotone; Ican’t do anything about that the wholerange is: and you cannot get more thanfour notes at the same time.

To M. 0. Shteinberg32 Avenue, J. B. Clemént, escalier 14,Boulogne s/S. France15 March 1933

One day a Frenchman, meloman

Alexander Glazunov, age seven

68 September/October 1997

good with brass? The bellsdid not work. I do not seeany innovation here. ThePictures may be performed

here in Paris for location (for rent,French) approximately 400 Francs forone use. How did it go with you?

To I.A. Wolfman,14, rue de la Franqe Mutualiste,Boulogne s/S.11 April 1933

The quartet of saxophones wasplayed for me in rehearsal at SallePaveau. They played excellently, and itsounded full and original. I am gladthat I heard this work.

To M. 0. Shteinberg10 December 1933

The performers are such virtuosi thatit is impossible to imagine that theyplay the same instruments as we hearin jazzes (Glazunov’s misspelling).What really strikes me is their breath-ing and indefatigability, light sound,and clear intonation.

To Shteinberg26 December 1933

The whole composition with stopstakes approximately 35 min. From thismoment the chronological link of the

letters is interrupted. The followinginformation is based on Shteinberg’ssketches of the missing letters. Thewords in quotation marks are the exactwords of Glazunov.

1934 began with Glazunov’s illness,flu and bronchitis. In March the com-poser started work on his concerto“under the influences of attacks ratherthan requests from the Danish saxo-phonist Sigurd Rascher.” Glazunovmentioned this situation in a letterdated March 17th. The work went veryfast and successfully, and in a letterdated April 4th, the work was com-pleted.

To Shteinberg4 June 1934

I completed the Concerto for saxo-phone, both the score and clavier, andmost likely I will hear performanceswithin days by the Frenchman Muleand the Danish saxophonist Rascher.The concerto is written in Es-dur andgoes non-stop. First goes exposition,Allegro Moderato, 4/4 and ends in g-moll. After a short development fol-lowed by singing Andante in Ces-dur(sometimes H-dur), 3/4 is the transi-tory into a little cadenza. The conclu-sion begins after the cadenza with acondensed Fugato 12/8 in c-moll. All

Alexander Glazunov & M. Scriabina, the widow ofcomposer A. Scriabin

Alexander Glazunov’s practice room in 1920. also report to be the roomin which he was born

asked me, whether Mussorgsky him-self orchestrated Night on Bold Moun-tain, or whether it was done byRimsky-Korsakov? All that made mewrite short memoirs about NikolaiAndreevich, in which I especiallydevoted attention to the question ofmy French friend... About Tushmalov,you have to be a little cautious. Afterthe first rehearsal, Rimsky-Korsakovre-orchestrated Limoges, the middlesection of Baba-Yaga (e-moll) and thebells in Gates. Twice I heard Ravel’sorchestration which I consider a mas-terwork, but I do not share your excite-ment, perhaps because I am not satis-fied with this music at all. On thecontrary, I did not like at all the “mum-bling” of the muted trumpet in TwoJews. That reminded me of the chickencackle. Nor did I like the tense tubasolo in Bydlo. About he saxophonesolo, thanks to a wonderful performer(he played the first saxophone in myquartet), I liked it from the second timeI heard it. The instrument, with its richtimbre, stood out brightly from theaccompaniment of the strings. Can theclumsy Promenade be made to sound

Saxophone Journal 69

Era, this composition was not a stan-dard part of the repertoire of Russianorchestras. The most famous orchestra,the USSR State Symphony under E.Svetlanov, which had a mission to playmostly Russian and Soviet music,made a series of recordings calledAnthology of Russian Symphonic Music.Sadly, Glazunov’s Saxophone Concertowas omitted. In 1936, the French pub-lisher Alphonse Leduc made a mostunusual addition to the piano reduc-tion. The publisher printed the name ofA. Petiot as a second composer. Inter-estingly enough, in all the archivalletters recorded, AlexanderKonstantiovich Glazunov never men-tioned that fact he worked with acompanion!

Thirty-six years after Glazunov’sdeath, on October 14, 1972, the Sovietauthorities decided to officially ac-knowledge him as a Great Russiancomposer of the Soviet period.Glazunov’s ashes were returnrd to theMotherland. They were reburied at theNecropolis for Masters of Art inAlexander Nevsky Lavra, Leningrad.In the mid-70s the Ministry of Culturemade the decision to offer saxophoneclasses for the first time to students of

the previous elements appear againwhich bring this to Coda in Es-dur.The form is very condensed, and thetotal time is no more than 18 min. Theaccompaniment is built on strings withmuch divisi, which, in some point, willsubstitute missing wind section. I usethis technique very often; strings inoctave divisi and an upper voice inunison with two cellos. Inforte, I usedouble notes a lot. I did show myConcerto to Metner, brothers Konus(George, Yuli, Leo) and Tcherepnine(Nilolai Nikolaievich), and they ap-proved of my work. I am afraid of thedouble notes effect. I will ask YuliKonus who was working with myviolin concerto. He is a big expert onsuch subtleties, and he prescribed thearticulation to Tchaikovsky.To Shteinberg13 July 1934

Saxophone Concerto completed, thescore and the clavier as well I am justwaiting for the moment I hear it inconcert; that is why I registered it forthe concert season with my SymphonicPoem (Poéme Epique).

To Shteinberg21 November 1934

Saxophone Concerto will be a part ofthe season concerts in England andScandinavia. The Danish saxophonistRascher, very good and tremendoustechnique, will perform it. In Paris, Mr.Mule, first class saxophonist and bestsoloist of “Garde Republicaine” wantsto play my Concerto.

ToShteinberg5 December1934

The Saxo-phone Con-certo waspremieredtwice bySigurdRascher in the two largest cities ofSweden. Next year I will hear it inParis.

On March 21 of 1936 Glazunov died.Unfortunately there is no further infor-mation indicating if the composer everheard his work performed. The perfec-tion of the Saxophone Concerto andother compositions always took prece-dence over his ego. He readily re-quested ideas and integrated the musi-cal conceptions of colleagues andactual performers.

The letter to A. Y. Shtrimer:“Dear Alexander Yakovlevich, I’m

mailing you my latest correction of(cello) concerto. I do not know whenthe clavier will be ready in print. PabloCasals is coming to Paris today, and Iwill have a rendezvous with him. Hewrote me about his concerns regardingthe articulations, and he wants tosuggest some small changes. If I findthem reasonable, I will be happy.Casals assures me that he plays theConcerto already from memory.”

Some additional facts regarding theConcerto for Saxophone and String Or-chestra deserve note. During the Soviet

Alexander Glazunov’s room while he was director ofSt. Petersburg Conservatory

Alexander Glazunov’s work desk in Paris,his last apartment

70 September/October 1997

St. Petersburg Conservatory

Thirty-six years after Glazunov’s death, onOctober 14, 1972, the Soviet authorities de-

cided to officially acknowledge him as a GreatRussian composer of the Soviet period.

Glazunov’s ashes were return to the Mother-land. They were reburied at the Necropolis for

Masters of Art in Alexander Nevsky Lavra,Leningrad.

higher education. The first conserva-tory level saxophone class in the USSRwas opened at the Gnessin Institute ofMusic in Moscow. One of the dominantfactors in this decision was simply toperpetuate and honor the music writ-ten by a Russian composer.

The letters presented are derivedfrom two Soviet publications:Glazunov. Issledovaniya. Materialy.Publikatsii. Pis’ma. V dvuh tomah.Leningrad, 1960 and Glazunov. Pis’ma,Stat’i, vospominaniya. Izbrannoye.Moskva, 1958, and the translations fromthe Russian originals are my own.

Andrei SobchenkoAndrei Sobchenko, a native of Rus-

sia, is currently Instructor of Wood-winds at Morgan State University inBaltimore, Maryland. He has appearedas a soloist and orchestral musician inRussia, France, Germany, and the USA.In Russia he played with most of themajor orchestras including the MoscowPhilharmonic (Rhapsody in Russia,Sheffield Lab, Inc., 1988), the USSRState Symphony, and the Bolshoi The-ater Concert Band. He was PrincipleSaxophonisi with the Russian Federa-tion Concert Band. As a soloist in theUSA, he appeared on National PublicRadio to premier a newly commis-sioned saxophone sonata from World-wide Concurrent Premier & Commis-sioning Fund, Inc.

Mr. Sobchenko completed his firstdegree at the Gnessin Institute ofMusic, Moscow. Later, he received the

Master of Music degreewith Kenneth Radnofskyat Boston University.Andrei Sobchenko residesin Silver Spring, Mary-land and is an Irish citi-zen. §

Editor ’s Note:In Russia Glazounov’s nameis spelled “Glazunov.”