The BBC Midland Orchestra
Leader, Alfred Cave
Conducted by Leslie Heward
Overture on Three Greek Themes, Op. 3
Intermezzo Romantico, Op. 69
Symphony No. 7, in F, Op. 77
Suite : From the Middle Ages, Op. 79
Alexander Glazunov was one of the remarkable prodigies in nineteenth-century music. A pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, he wrote his First Symphony in 1881 at the age of sixteen, and the work was so mature that many were inclined to think it must have been largely written by the lad's teacher. Two Overtures on Greek themes, one of which opens this afternoon's programme, date from the same period as this early Symphony.
The predominant characteristic of Glazunov's music is its graceful, fluent melody, delightfully flavoured as it is with Russian folk song. His orchestral colouring is always delicious, but his admiration for Brahms has saved him from the pitfall of too-garish scoring, fatal to so many of his fellow country-men.