Gliere

Reinhold Gliere

Internet Edition compiled by Onno van Rijen

Updated 16 March 2008

Born

January 11, 1875 in Kiev. Died June 23, 1956 in Moscow.

Education

Gliere studied at the Moscow Conservatory until 1900 with Hrimaly for the violin, Taneyev, Arensky, Konyus and Ippolitov-Ivanov for theory and composition.
From 1920 -1941 was a professor of composition at the conservatory, where his pupils included Davidenko, Novikov, & Rakov among others.
Gliere was also chairman of the USSR Composers' Union (1938-1948). He received several State Prizes (1942,1946,1948,1950) and held the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1938, the RSFSR, the Uzbek SSR and the Azerbaijani SSR.
His students included A. and B. Aleksandrov, Bagrinovsky, Bruk, Bugoslavsky, Davidenko, Fere, Frolov, N. Golubev, Gozenpud, Gunst, A. Khachaturian, Klyucharyov, Knipper, Liatoshinsky, Miaskovsky, Prokofiev, Rakov and many others.

Principal Works

His most popular works include "The Red Poppy" and "The Bronze Horseman". His Harp Concerto is among the finest concertos for this instrument.

Style

Gliere was a direct heir to the Russian Romantic tradition, working on a grand scale in the large forms (opera, ballet, symphony, and symphonic poem). He formed a link between the Tchaikovsky/Taneyev scholl and the next generation of Russian/Soviet composers, including Prokofiev, Miaskovsky and A. Khachaturian.
His symphonic works draw on the Russian tradition of Borodin and Glazunov. This is especially clear in his Third Symphony 'Il'ya Muroments', named after a Russian folk hero, but all his symphonies, concertos and symphonic poems show a monumentality of image and a brilliant aural imagination.
His interest in the music of the Ukrainians and in Eastern music led him to write stage works based on the folk culture of the Soviet republics of the Transcaucasus and Central Asisa; in this he was a pioneer. His works in this regard stimulated the development of professional music in the eastern republics.

Works

"Earth and Sky", opera (1900)

String Sextet No. 1 opus 1 (1900)

String Quartet No. 1 opus 2 (1900)

Romance for violin and piano opus 3 (1902)

Ballad for cello and piano opus 4 (1902)

Andante.
Duration: 6 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)

String Octet opus 5 (1900)

Songs opus 6

String Sextet No. 2 opus 7 (1902)

Symphony No. 1 in E flat major opus 8 (1899-1900)

Movements:
1. Andante - Allegro moderato - Andante: 12 min 30 sec
2. Allegro molto vivace: 7 min
3. Andante: 8 min
4. Finale; Allegro: 7 min

CD Chandos CHAN 9160: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Downes (cond)

Two Pieces for double-bass and piano opus 9 (1900)

Songs opus 10

String Sextet No. 3 opus 11 (1904)

Songs opus 12

Songs opus 13

Songs opus 14

Scherzo for piano opus 15

Deux Morceaux for piano opus 16

1. Prelude in C minor
2. Romance

Cinq Esquisses for piano opus 17

Songs opus 18

Trois Morceaux for piano opus 19

1. Mazurka
2. Intermezzo
3. Mazurka

String Quartet No. 2 opus 20 (1905)

Trois Morceaux for piano opus 21

1. Tristesse
2. Joie
3. Chagrin

Songs opus 22

Songs opus 23

Songs opus 24

Symphony No. 2 in C minor opus 25 (1907-1908)

Movements:
1. Allegro pesante: 14 min
2. Allegro giocoso: 7 min
3. Andante con variazioni: 13 min
4. Allegro vivace: 11 min

CD Chandos CHAN 9071: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Downes (cond)

Pieces for piano opus 26

Songs opus 27

Songs opus 28

Pieces for piano opus 29

Pieces for piano opus 30

Twelve Children's Pieces for piano opus 31

Two Pieces for piano opus 32 (1908)

1. Prelude
2. Scherzo

"The Sirens", symphonic poem opus 33 (1908)

Twenty-Four Pieces Characteristiques for Young People "Pour le Jeunesse" for piano opus 34

Pieces for various instruments with piano opus 35 (1908)

Songs opus 36

Songs opus 37

Twenty-Four Easy Pieces for piano opus 38

Eight Pieces for violin and cello opus 39 (1909)

Deux Esquisses for piano opus 40

Six Morceaux for two pianos four hands opus 41

Symphony No. 3 in B minor "Ilya Muromets" opus 42 (1909-1911)

Movements:
1. Wandering Pilgrims: Ilya Muromets and Svyagotor: 23 min
2. Nightingale the Robber: 22 min
3. At the Court of Vladimir the Mighty Sun: 7 min
4. The Heroic Deeds and Petrification of Ilya Muromets: 26 min

CD Chandos CHAN 9041: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Downes (cond)
CD Telarc CD-80609: London Symphony Orchestra, Leon Botstein (cond)

Eight Easy Pieces for piano opus 43

Songs opus 44

Twelve Easy Pieces for violin and piano opus 45 (1909)

Songs opus 46

Twelve Esquisses for piano opus 47

Twelve Morceaux for piano opus 48

Twelve Duos for piano opus 49

Songs opus 50

Twelve Pieces for cello and piano opus 51 (1910)

Songs opus 52

Ten Duos for two celli opus 53 (1911)

Seven Instructive Pieces for violin and piano opus 54 (1911)

Songs opus 55

Three Esquisses for piano opus 56

"The Falsification of Hesekiel" for narrator and orchestra (1919)

Music to the Play "Oidipus Rex" after Sofocles (1921)

Songs opus 58

Songs opus 59

Two Poems for soprano and orchestra opus 60 (1924)

Pieces for piano opus 61

Songs opus 62

Songs opus 63

"The Zaporozhy Cossaks", symphonic poem opus 64 (1921)

Parts:
1. Introduction: 3 min 30 sec
2. The Cossacks write the letter then read it: 1 min
3. They Laugh: 2 min
4. They Dance and Rejoice: 9 min
5. Finale: 2 min

CD Chandos CHAN 9071: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Downes (cond)

Chryzis, ballet-pantomime opus 65 (1912)

"Trizna", symphonic poem opus 66 (1915)

String Quartet No. 3 opus 67 (1928)

"Sheeps's Spring", balletsuite opus 68 (1922)

Music to the Play "Lysistrata" after Aristophanes (1923)

"Fantasy for the Komintern-Feast" for military wind orchestra (1924)

"March of the Red Army" for military wind orchestra (1924)

"Kleopatra (Egypian nights)", ballet-mimodrama (1925)

"The Red Poppy", ballet after M. Kurilko opus 70 (1926-1927)

Duration: 108 min.

Act 1
1. Introduction
2. Coolies' Dance
3. Scene: Tao-Hoa's Entrance
4. Restaurant
5. Malik's Dance 6. Boston Waltz
7. Scene of European Dance: Captain's Entrance and Sailor's Dance
8. Tao-Hoa's Scene
9. Variatyions with Golden Fingers
10. Coolies' Victory Dance
11. Dance of the Soviet Sailors: Apple
Act 2
12. Introduction: Scene in the smoking room
13. Scene
14. Dance of the Chinese Women
15. Adagio of four Goddesses
16. Adagio
17. Prelude
18. Tao-Hoa's Vision
19. Scene: Procession
20. Sword Dance
21. Phoenix
22. Adagio
23. The Rose Ship
Act 3
24. Charleston
25. Dance in the Restaurant
26. Preparation of the Chinese Theatre
27. Umbrella Dance
28. Puppet Dance
29. Chinese Acrobats' Dance
30. Scene: the Conspiracy
31. Scene of Confusion
32. Captain's Scene
33. Tao-Hoa's Scene; the departing ship
34. Rebellion Scene
35. Tao Hoa's Death
36. Apotheosis

CD Naxos 8.553496-7: St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Anichanov (cond)

"The Red Poppy", suite

Parts:
1. Heroic Coolie Dance
2. Scene and Dance: Andante - Allegretto
3. Chinese Dance
4. Phoenix
5. Valse
6. Russian Sailor's Dance

CD Chandos CHAN 9160: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Edward Downes (cond)

Music to the Play "Figaro's Wedding" after Beaumarchais (1927)

"Shakh-Senem", opera (1927)

"Shakh-Senem", opera (revised version) (1934)

"Gyulsara", musical drama (1936)

"Heroic March", overture for military wind orchestra opus 71

For the Buryiat-Mongolian ASSR.
Tempo di marcia.
Duration: 11 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)
CD Marco Polo 8.223675: St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Anichanov (cond)

Festive Overture for the 2oth Anniversary of the October-Revolution opus 72 (1937)

Chandos CHAN 10166: Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra, Clark Rundell (cond)

"Zapovit", symphonic poem opus 73 (1938)

Harp Concerto opus 74 (1938)

"A Toast" for solo voice and orchestra (1939)

"Holiday at Ferghana", overture for orchestra opus 75 (1940)

Allegro assai. Festivo
Duration: 9 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)

"Leyli i Mejnun", opera (1940)

"The Friendship of the Peoples", overture for orchestra opus 79 (1941)

"Rachel", opera after Maupassant (1942)

Concerto for coloratura soprano opus 82 (1943)

Concert Waltz, overture for orchestra opus 90

Allegro.
Duration: 6 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)

"Shakh-Senem", overture for orchestra

Allegro moderato.
Duration: 16 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)
CD Marco Polo 8.223675: St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Anichanov (cond)

Overture on Slavonic Themes for orchestra (1941)

Con moto.
Duration: 10 minutes.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)

"For the Happiness of the Fatherland", overture for orchestra (1942)

"Twenty-Five Years of the Red Army", overture for orchestra (1943)

"War Overture" for orchestra (1943)

"Victory", overture for orchestra (1945)

Cello Concerto in D minor opus 87 (1946)

Movements:
1. Allegro: 22 min
2. Andante: 17 min
3. Allegro vivace: 8 min

CD Dom Talent DOM 2929 96: Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Marc Soustrot (cond), Quirine Viersen (cello)
CD Olympia OCD 592: Russian Cinematographic Symphony Orchestra, Sergei Skripka (cond), Sergei Sudzilovsky (cello)

Impromptu for harp (1947)

Dedicated to Xenia Erdeli.

String Quartet No. 4 (1948)

"The Bronze Horseman", ballet in four acts after Pushkin (1948-1949) "The Bronze Horseman", suite

Duartion: 14 minutes.
Parts:
1. Yevgeny
2. Parasha
3. Lyric Scene
4. Dance Scene

CD Marco Polo 8.223675: St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Anichanov (cond)

"Gyulsara", opera (1949)

In cooperation with Sadikov.

CD Chandos CHAN 9518: (Overture: Risoluto) BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Vassily Sinaisky (cond)
CD Marco Polo 8.223675: (Overture: Risoluto) St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Andre Anichanov (cond)

Horn Concerto opus 91 in B flat major (1950)

CD Dom Talent DOM 2929 96: Royal Flemish Philharmonic, Marc Soustrot (cond), Eliz Erkalp (horn)

Music to the Play "Hulsara"

"Taras Bulba", ballet after Gogol (1951-1952)

"Comedians" (1953)

Revised version of "Sheeps's Spring", 1930.

"A Daughter of Castlia" (1955)

Revised version of "Comedians".

Violin Concerto (completed and orchestrated by Liatoshinsky) (1956)

Thanks to Jan Vanvelk from Leuven, Belgium and Kees de Leeuw from The Netherlands for additional information

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