Stenka Razin (Glazunov)

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Stenka Razin, Op. 13, is a symphonic poem composed by Alexander Glazunov in 1885. Dedicated to the memory of Alexander Borodin,[1] it is one of the few compositions written by Glazunov on a nationalist subject[2] and is composed in a style reminiscent of Borodin and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.[3]

Glazunov's composition dramatizes and romanticizes the career of the Cossack Stenka Razin. After leading raids against the Tsarist regime, Razin was captured and given amnesty in exchange of an oath of allegiance. He broke his promise, leading an army of several hundred thousand in an attempt to overthrow the government. Captured again, he was executed in 1672.[4]

The score focuses on a dramatic moment immediately preceding Razin's recapture. Razin and his mistress, a captured Persian princess, are afloat on a richly caparisoned boat on the

River Volga. There, in one version of the story, the princess relates an ominous dream, warning of imminent disaster and her own death in the river. They are suddenly surrounded by tsarist soldiers. Razin casts the princess into the water, declaring, "Never in all my thirty years have I offered a sacrifice to the Volga. Today I will give it what is for me the most precious of all the world's treasures." The Cossacks then descend desperately upon the Russian troops.[1] Another version of the story has Razin's men claiming that his love of the princess has dulled his lust for fighting—a charge Razin counters by drowning the princess before leading his followers once again into battle.[3]

Structure

The slow introduction evokes the River Volga, quoting "

development section, culminating in the graphic depiction of the princess's death. "The Song of the Volga Boatmen" is reprised in the brass to bring the work to a rousing conclusion.[1][4]

Premiere

The work was premiered in

St. Petersburg on November 23, 1885 in a concert, arranged at Mitrofan Belyayev's expense, conducted by the Rimsky-Korsakov pupil Georgi Ottonovich Dutsch.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c Grier, 2.
  2. ^ Maes, 192.
  3. ^ a b https://www.allmusic.com/work/c32925
  4. ^ a b Ewen, 856.
  5. ^ a b "GLAZUNOV, A.K.: Orchestral Works, Vol. 4 - Stenka Razin / Une fete slave / Cortege solennel (Moscow Symphony, Krimets)".
  6. ^ Maes, 82.

Bibliography

  • ed. Ewen, David, The Complete Book of Classical Music (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1965). Library of Congress Catalog Number 65–11033. ISBN n/a.
  • Grier, Christopher, notes for Chandos 8479, Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Glazunov: Stenka Razin;
    Scottish National Orchestra conducted by Neeme Järvi
    .
  • Maes, Francis, tr.
    ISBN 0-520-21815-9
    .

External links
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