Reinhold Glière lived from 1874 until 1956, and managed to please the Czarist and Communist regimes by his composing style and talent. Not an ultra-conservative (at least in his early years), nor was he a 'modernist' during Stalin's reign (which being labeled as such could get a composer in a lot of hot water, as Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and others discovered).
He followed in the steps of the Mighty Five of Russian music; Rimsky-Korsakov ( Glière dedicated the 2nd String Quartet to him), Mussorgsky, Balakirev, Borodin, and Cui, as Russian folk song played a large role in his compositions. One of his most well known works is the 1911 epic 3rd Symphony 'Ilya Muromets', which uses Russian folklore and folk music. As with many composers early in their career, he wrote chamber music as well. He wrote two of his four string quartets early on, with the 2nd in G Minor in 1905.
I. Allegro moderato -The first movement starts straight off with the first of two quite Russian sounding themes in the 1st violin:
This theme gets a short development before it is repeated in the 1st and 2nd violins. A section of key changes and mood changes prepares the way for the 2nd theme in D major that is based on a Russian folksong:
The first theme reappears to start the development section. After fragments of it play, the second theme reappears. The music becomes more and more animated until a short pause ushers a working out towards the recapitulation. The first theme plays again in the home key of G minor, the second theme plays this time in the key of B-flat major. A coda brings the movement back to G minor, and the music ends solemnly.
II. Andante -A theme in E-flat major opens the movement in the 1st violin, and on repetition by the cello:
A middle section moves into different keys and increases movement slightly and has sections where it grows more passionate, but for the most part the music stays tranquil. The music slowly slows in volume as the theme returns. The music comes to a gentle, quiet close in the key in which it began.
III. Vivace -The 2nd violin begins the movement playing a fifth of A and E, sounding like a village fiddler beginning a dance:
The 1st violin plays the melody that is punctuated by trills. A contrasting section is in the key of D-flat major and modulated to other keys and moods before the music returns to the opening dance. The movement ends with a quiet refrain of the dance, and a hushed chord of string harmonics.
IV. Orientale: Andante - Allegro -The final movement begins with 1st and 2nd violins playing in unison, and the viola and cello playing the same melody in unison an octave lower. the music is in the key of G minor, but the ear detects something different about it:
This is a type of minor scale that is heard in different kinds of folk music, sometimes from quite different areas. I have heard it called the Hungarian Gypsy scale, some call it the harmonic melodic scale. No doubt Glière came across the scale in the research he did in Russian folk music. It has an exotic sound to it, and fits quite well in a movement called Orientale.
After this short introduction, the music grows faster and has a persistent dotted rhythm accompanying the theme that begins in the viola:
There is a second theme with the same persistent dotted rhythm accompanying it. The rest of the movement has both themes being stated and elaborated upon, and episodes of new material, or at least new workings out of other themes that is done so well they sound different. There is not much let up in the rhythmic drive until the end.
Reinhold Glière attended the Moscow Conservatory and was taught by some of the best music teachers in Russia in the late 19th century.His studies included the violin and the usual harmony and theoretical subjects. One of his main influences was Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov who taught him composition and instrumentation. He graduated with high honors in 1900 and shortly after began teaching at the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow.
He began writing the first symphony during his final year of school in 1899 and finished the work in 1900. It is solidly cast in the tradition of Russian symphonies by Tchaikovsky. Glière especially shines in his use of the orchestra. There are some that discount Glière as a symphonist, but I disagree. At the very least he wrote with a firm orchestral and compositional technique, and his earliest symphony is a pleasure to listen to, even if it doesn't hit the depths or the heights. He only wrote three symphonies with his last one being his masterpiece, Symphony No. 3 Ilya Muromets.
Symphony No. 1 in E-flat is in 4 movements:
Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov
I. Andante - Allegro moderato - Andante -The first movement begins with a gentle introduction played by the clarinet. The oboe soon takes up the tune, and the strings continue to set the mood. This introduction contains bits and pieces that gel into the first theme which is ushered in with the oboe and clarinet taking turns before the full orchestra has its say with the theme. There is additional material played after the first theme and this leads directly into the second theme. The clarinet plays the mellow and lyrical second theme. The horns take up the second theme, and after a slow winding down of the music the development section begins with the oboe leading the way for the first theme's expansion. A chromatic development has the theme rise in pitch and intensity. Rumbling snatches of the second theme are next to be developed. A climax is reached and quickly subsides as the recapitulation begins. The two main themes are repeated with obligatory key change given to the second theme. The horn plays the second theme, trading off with the oboe. The four horns once again nobly play the second theme. The coda is short, and the movement ends with the identical slow introduction that opened it.
II. Allegro molto vivace -The second movement is a scherzo written in 5 beats to the bar:
After a short introduction for horns, cellos and basses, the violins and violas scamper along in eighth notes with the 5/4 time signature translating to 2+3 beats to the bar. The woodwinds take up the scamper, and the music modulates and grows into a tripping stomp before it dies back down to the opening figure in the violins. The trio is begun by the clarinet and manages to smooth out the tripping quality of the 5/4 time signature somewhat. The music swells in volume as the trio is interrupted by the beginning scampering figure a few times until the trio is silenced and the scherzo proper returns. The movement ends with a loud chord by the orchestra.
III. Andante - A slow (but not too slow) lyrical melody in G minor with a Russian flavor begins the movement. It slowly unwinds, slightly ebbs and flows until it melts into another gentle theme played by the oboe. The first theme is elaborated on, the music continues to unwind and Glière shows how well he learned about the orchestra from Ippolitov-Ivanov. The music reaches a climax shortly before the end. It dies down after that to a poignant end.
IV. Finale : Allegro -A short introduction by the horns and orchestra before the rapid dance tune begins. The second theme is right in keeping with the mood of the movement. The development section begins straight away with a motive played from the first theme. The music gets a little more intense as the first them continues to be developed. The horns play the secondary theme as the woodwinds chirp an accompaniment. After the rather straight-forward (but pleasant) development, the first dance tune appears in full to begin the recapitulation. The second theme appears, the music comments on the opening of the first theme, and the movement ends.
The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the subsequent seizing of power by the Bolsheviks led to a complete change in the Russian way of life. Gone was the old aristocracy (with the execution of Czar Nicholas and his family in 1918) while the communists (in name if not exactly in Marxist theory) made their power felt in the arts as well as every day life. The control of the communists, with lip-service given to the ideals of the revolution, led to the all too-human trait of maintaining power at all costs, created a totalitarian state that was not any better (and perhaps in some ways worse) than the old regime.
It was into this chaos of post-revolution Russia that Reinhold Glière was thrown. He was not without sympathy to the cause of the October 1905 uprising, as he had been a signer of the manifesto that protested government brutality during the uprising. He ventured to Berlin to study conducting later in 1905 and stayed until 1907. Upon his return to Moscow he settled into the life of composer and conductor. After the revolution, he remained a conductor, teacher and composer. But the complexion of his music changed. Gone was the late Romanticism of his music, to be replaced by music more fitting to the 'revolution'.
Glière's three symphonies were written in 1900, 1908 and 1911 respectively. There was a steady growth in his music from his first to third symphonies which showed influences of composers from his native Russia and Europe. This musical growth was stymied by the revolution and the cultural and artistic control exerted by the new regime. After the death of Lenin, the cultural control grew to be a stranglehold by a paranoid and brutal Stalin. To create any piece of music or art that was not liked by Stalin could be a literal death sentence. The number of people of all walks of life that were murdered under Stalin's orders (implied or explicit) runs into the millions. The three symphonies of Glière may have been only a prelude to what he might have written under different circumstances.
Glière's Second Symphony is in 4 movements:
I. Allegro pesante -The movement begins straight away with driving rhythm and a powerful theme stated in the horns. The theme is restated and slightly varied, but maintains a forward momentum that comes to a halt with a more quiet section accompanied by muted strings which introduces the expressive second theme. This second theme is but an interlude as the theme fist heard in the horns returns and is developed further. The development section of the movement begins with hushed tones until the horn theme begins again and goes through yet more development. The recapitulation arrives, the horn theme is heard, the second theme returns more passionately than heard in the beginning. There is a climax of the horn theme (the overwhelmingly dominant theme of the movement) and a short coda that incorporates pieces of the main theme and brings the movement to a mystic close.
II. Allegro giocoso -The composer's change of time signature from 3/4 to 2/4 in this scherzo gives it an appealing quirkiness while the tune of the trio section shows the Russian spirit of the composer. As in the first hearing of the scherzo proper, the bass clarinet can be heard in the accompaniment as the music heads to the brilliant close of the movement.
III. Andante con variazioni -Glière showcases another of his melodies in this set of variations that holds the interest of the listener throughout. The composer's gifts for melody and symphonic construction are showcased in seven variations that are in turn sweet, melodious, melancholy and boisterous. The theme is brought forth in a short coda with the Cor Anglais, strings and harp that serenely end the movement.
IV . Allegro vivace -A rousing dance opens the movement, with the bass clarinet once again playing a noticeable role. A more expressive theme appears for a brief time until the dance once again takes prominence. A quiet interlude with woodwinds accompanied by strings comes forth, only to be dispelled by the restless dance tune slowly appearing. The xylophone enters as the music gets more hectic and loud, the orchestra clashes, the dance dominates. The music morphs into a maestoso coda of fragments of the dance played in the brass as it comes to a close.
Some of the music in the Second Symphony foreshadows the music Glière was to compose for his masterpiece, the Third Symphony 'Ilya Murometz', but it is by no means an inferior work. It is a work of a great and original musical mind and talent.
That Glière's style changed to fit his political times is a fact that is proven by much of the music written after the 1917 Revolution. What might have been is but speculation. It may be easy for some to label the composer as complicit, a sell-out to the tyranny of his times to save his own ass. But how many might do the same thing, including those who may condemn him? It was a matter of life or death, after all.
Most countries or nationalities have their folk heroes. Many of them are based on historical figures, or are an amalgamation of more than one historical figure. One of Russia's most famous folk heroes is Ilya Muromets. As with England and Europe, Russia had a period of time where it was a feudal society, including the brave and heroic knight that fought the invader. These knights were called bogatyrs, and Ilya Muromets was one of the greatest. Glière used this folk tale of Russia as his inspiration for his symphony.
Reinhold Glière was born in 1875 in Kiev. He studied violin in Kiev, later studied composition and orchestration with students of Rimsky-Korsakov, Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov and Anton Arensky. He graduated from school in 1900 and began to teach as well as compose. One of his private students was Sergei Prokofiev. His third symphony was written in 1911 and premiered in 1912. After the Russian Revolution, Glière continued to teach and compose. While his third symphony was definitely a modern work in 1911, his style remained more traditional than avant-garde, so he avoided the accusations of formalism (definition of which was : Music that Stalin didn't like) that threatened Shostakovich, Prokofiev and other Soviet-era composers. He taught at the Moscow Conservatory until 1941, did etho-musicology work to help develop an Azerbaijani cultural opera, and continued to write cantatas and operas. He wrote no more symphonies after number three.
Glière was obviously a survivor. He created no waves, stayed pretty much within the musical confines that were officially approved of. He became a living classic, and was derided by some of the more modern composers of Russia. But in his Third Symphony, he created a massive, multi-movement tone poem that is one of the most expansive pieces of music ever composed. He used a huge orchestra, 4 of each woodwind, 4 trumpets, 8 horns, and a wide variety of percussion. His themes are expansive, their development even more so. The Third Symphony is not a piece of music to rush through. It must unfold as a great story book, and it is a story book, written in music. Glière himself marked the score with the appropriate happenings of what the music depicts. The symphony is in 4 Tableaux:
Tableaux I - Wandering Pilgrims ; Muromets and Svygator The first movement is in two sections. The first section begins with slow, ominous music that depicts Ilya, crippled and unable to walk since birth. There appears some wandering pilgrims that have the gift of healing. They tell Ilya to stand up and walk, to go out and do mighty deeds, for he is no longer crippled. The music moves ever so slowly through this section as it builds up to Ilya walking under his own power.
The second section concerns Ilya meeting the great bogatyr Svygator, a knight so big that his helmet parts the clouds as he rides on his giant horse. At first Ilya challenges him, but after talking together they become fast friends and Svygator give Ilya much advice and wisdom. The music depicts wild adventures until they come across a huge stone coffin. Svygator lays in the coffin and as he breathes on Ilya for the last time and gives him all his strength and wisdom, a lid is put on the coffin and he dies. The death of Svygator is heard in a slow descent to the very depths of the orchestra. The whole-tone scale is used to increase the horror and mystery of the episode. Ilya then rides off on his horse to Kiev. Tableaux II - Ilya And Nightingale The Robber
Ilya is on his way to capture the dreaded monster Nightingale who hides in the shelter of the mighty oaks within the threatening forest. Nightingale kills mortals who dare to enter his forest by whistling a loud, shrieking noise that kills them. The orchestra strings play near the bridge of their instruments (sul ponticello) to give a glassy, unreal sound to represent Ilya's entrance into the dangerous forest. Nightingale hears Ilya approach, and when he is near he lets loose with his screeching whistle, but to no affect. The orchestra depiction of Nightingale's whistle is some of the most creative orchestration Glière uses in a symphony noted for its imaginative orchestration. Nightingale now tries to lure Ilya by unleashing his three voluptuous daughters who are not only beautiful but use gold, silver and pearls to try and lure him into the trap. Glière begins a slow unwinding of a Wagner-like sensuality to represent the three daughters. The music builds until Ilya resists their spell by shooting an arrow into the eye of Nightingale. The shrieking whistle is heard once more, but still has no affect on Ilya as he ties Nightingale to his horse and rides to Kiev to the court of Prince Vladimir The Mighty Sun. The unearthly sound of the strings heard once again as Ilya rides out of the forest.
Tableaux III - The Court Of Vladimir The Mighty SunThe mood changes at the court of Prince Vladimir The Mighty Sun, the popular ruler of Kiev. There is a festival being held for the boyars (nobles) and bogatyrs of his realm, complete with dancing maidens, musicians, the finest in food and drink. Ilya appears with Nightingale still tied to his horse. He releases Nightingale to let loose with his horrible whistle and all the guests of the festival fall to their knees in fear. Ilya takes his sword and promptly beheads Nightingale, thus showing to Prince Vladimir and the rest that he is worthy to be a bogatyr. Prince Vladimir accepts him as such and the festival continues. The music reflects the story line and paints a vivid picture for this, the shortest movement of the symphony, which can be thought of as the scherzo if in name and purpose if not in form. This movement eases the tension of the past movements and prepares the listener for what is to come.
Tableaux IV - The Heroic Deeds and Petrification Of Ilya
This movement is in two sections, the first section depicts in music the battles fought by Ilya and the other Bogatyrs against invaders of all kinds, real and fictional. The eras of Russian history depicted in this music was a time of Christianity being adopted by Prince Vladimir with his baptism and the resultant battles against pagans trying to turn the country back to paganism. Glière constructs some of the wildest fugues ever written for orchestra to represent the battles. The orchestration bristles with sound and excitement as Ilya and the Bogatyrs defeat every enemy that challenges them.
The second section of the movement depicts the final defeat of the Bogatyrs and Ilya. After being victorious in so many battles, the Bogatyrs look to the heavens and ask if there is even a celestial army that can defeat them. The wandering pilgrims of the first movement that cured Ilya are in fact celestial beings themselves that have been watching the proceedings. The Bogatyrs have gone too far in their arrogance, and a celestial army comes down to earth and defeats the Bogatyrs. While the celestial army defeats the others, Ilya tries to escape but as he runs he is turned to stone. The orchestra reaches a shattering climax, a really grand racket at the moment Ilya turns to stone. Afterwards, the music turns slow and reflects about all that has happened. The chant that has been heard throughout the symphony in many guises is heard once more, this time in muted tones. The music reaches a minor climax, then slowly evaporates.
My first exposure to this symphony was in the early 1970's on a two long playing record set from the old Soviet Russia recording company Melodiya as distributed by Columbia records. I was smitten, literally wore the recording out with multiple plays. It was a recording that made cuts in the score and a few additions to the score instrumentation-wise from the conductor Nathan Rakhlin. It was a stunning recording despite the cuts and additions with a sound that was top-notch for the time. There are now a few more recordings of the work, the one in the accompanying video by the BBC Philharmonic and the conductor Edward Downes being my favorite.
Gustav Mahler, the great conductor/composer thought a symphony should be an entire world unto itself. Gliere's Symphony No. 3 Ilya Muromets is a symphony that meets Mahler's criterion. There are symphonies that are just as long or longer (it takes about eighty minutes) but there are few that are as expansive. It seems to last a lot longer than it actually does, and I mean that as a compliment. There is so much going on, the lines of music take time to develop and they draw you in with their expressiveness.
It is a masterpiece of illustrative music that is more than picture painting. Of course the story line adds to the enjoyment of the piece, but it can also stand alone as a symphony without the added story. It was as such that I first grew to love the work 40 years ago, and I return to it on occasion with no less wonder and appreciation of it. This is one of my all time favorites. I thought it was more than fitting for it to be the subject of my 200th posting on this blog.
