Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov was born in Saint Petersburg in 1865. He rose to fame very quickly as a teenager with the help to Russian nationalist music group, The Five. At age 16, Mitrofan Belyayev hired an orchestra to play Glazunov’s First Symphony. Belyayev served as a key promoter of Glazunov’s career. Glazunov is known for having an incredible memory. He once played an entire symphony after hearing it from behind a closed door. His most famous pieces include ballets The Seasons (1899) and Raymonda (1898).
