Name: Glazunov with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
Start: 2024-05-30T14:00:00
Location: MediaCityUK

Martyn Brabbins

BBC Philharmonic

‘The whole thing sounds as though it came to us from some other world. I think there is no one who can resist it. One is battered to the ground and then raised on angel’s wings to the highest heights.’ – Gustav Mahler

Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, ‘Resurrection’

The Bridgewater Hall

If you’re not familiar with the music of Glazunov, his concert waltzes are a wonderful place to start. This is the sort of music you can imagine a princess whirling round a packed ballroom to, and Glazunov’s Concert Waltz No.2, which we hear today, blushes with rosy-cheeked colour and romance. Glazunov composed it in 1894, a year after his Fourth Symphony. The 1890s marked the transition for Glazunov from national treasure to international success, and many of his most popular works date from this period. Symphony No.4 is "marvellous, noble and expressive" according to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov who conducted the premiere. And no wonder it was so well received – Glazunov started young when it came to symphonies. He was 16 when he composed his very first, and even at that age, his maturity of expression was staggering.