Reinhold Glier: biography, interesting facts, creativity

Reinhold Gliere

A man with a kind heart and a poetic soul, so contemporaries called Reinhold Moritsevich Glier - a remarkable Soviet composer, who devoted his whole life to musical art. The outstanding maestro was sincerely convinced that love and beauty would transform our world, make it much better and kinder. He considered the melody to be the main thing in his compositions, which should come only from the heart, therefore the works of Glier are distinguished by extraordinary penetration and touching lyricism. Glier never liked to talk about his work, but the confession of his life became works that glorified the great musician to the whole world, and besides this, his special merit lies in the fact that the composer laid the foundations of the Soviet ballet.

A brief biography of Reinhold Glier and a lot of interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

Brief biography of Glier

In Kiev, on Basseinaya Street, located in the area of ​​the famous Bessarabka, in the family of a German citizen who moved to Ukraine from Klingenthal Saxon, Moritz Glier, on January 11 (in a new style) a boy was born. Loving parents gave him a beautiful name - Reinhold, although he was called Ernest when he baptized the baby.

The head of the family was a hereditary musical master making brass instruments. He maintained his small workshop, which he proudly called the "factory". The mother of the future composer, Jozef Korczak, who came from a noble Polish family, was a very educated woman and paid much attention to the upbringing and education of children, who in addition to Goldichka were three more: two sons - Moritz and Karl and daughter Cecilia.

From early childhood, the father aimed his sons to continue the family profession, but the baby Reingold was more interested in not making instruments, but the music that was performed on them. Parents were categorically against such a passion for their son and in every way prevented that, because a good master was needed for the family to thrive, not a performing musician. In such difficult conditions of misunderstanding, the character of the future composer was formed: the boy was closed, he did not allow anyone to his problems, but at the same time he constantly sought to assert himself and self-realization. Glier later wrote that from childhood he always tried to be perfectly good. Despite all the restrictions, Reingold stubbornly went to his dream. When he was ten years old, when the boy was identified as a gymnasium, he secretly took the violin from his parents for the first time and found teachers for himself who, for a meager fee, and sometimes even with a gift, helped him master the instrument. The first music teachers in Glier were: an old amateur violinist, and then a student at a music school.

As a result of hard work, but again, in defiance of the parental will, the young musician in 1891 became a student at a music school and fell into the class of a wonderful teacher - Czech violinist O. Shevchik. And in the next 1982, a significant event occurred in the life of Reingold: PI came to Kyiv on tour. Chaikovsky. The organization of performances of an outstanding composer was the Russian Musical Society, which administered the music college. Young Gliere, among several students, was lucky to receive a pass-ticket to the concert of the genius maestro. Met with audience applause "1812 overture", which was conducted by the great Tchaikovsky himself, as well as a brief meeting with the composer, left a young musician with unforgettable vivid impressions that predetermined his further fate. Reingold had a dream to become a composer, and he headed uncontrollably.

Glier began to do a lot of composition, attend musical concerts, opera and ballet performances. In addition, the young man understood that in order to accomplish the task he had to be a very educated person, so he enthusiastically read classical literature and diligently studied French (the parents taught him German and Polish). The desire to quickly implement their intentions prompted a young man, despite the protests of relatives, after the third year of school in 1894 to go and try to enter the Moscow Conservatory. However, the young musician did not lose: the selection committee, who was impressed with his performance on the violin, was enrolled in an educational institution with the young teacher N. Sokolovsky, and later was transferred to the class of I. Grzhimali. Theoretical subjects Rheingold took place under GE. Konus and A.S. Arensky, and from 1895 he studied polyphony with S.I. Taneyev, who dreamed of studying from the first day of entering the conservatory. Gliere comprehended the composition under the guidance of MM. Ippolitova-Ivanova, and studied the history of spiritual singing in the class of S.V. Smolensky.

In the years of study, Reinhold in addition to the program continued to actively engage in self-education. He carefully studied not only musical, but also literary classics, and also was fond of philosophy, psychology and history. Great importance to the formation of Glier as a composer at that time was attended by visits to the creative evenings of Moscow musicians, which were usually held by A. Goldenweiser. At such meetings, the soul of which was S.I. Taneyev and A. S. Arensky, Reingold closely communicated with such interesting people as A. Scriabin, S. Rakhmaninov, A. Sulerzhitsky, M. Slonov, K. Saraje, I. Sats and Yu. Sakhnovsky.

In 1897, the composer's life was marked by another important event: on May 11, he officially became a subject of the Russian state.

Years of study at the conservatory, which Glier completed with a gold medal in 1900, he always remembered with warmth, but this period of the composer’s life was often marred by the death of people dear to him. First grandfather Glier died, then in 1896 the composer’s father passed away, and in 1899 his elder sister Cecilia died under tragic circumstances.

Beginning of creative activity

After graduation, the composer spent several months in St. Petersburg, where he participated in meetings of the famous Belyaevsky circle, headed by N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov. A. Borodin, Ts. Cui, V. Stasov, F. Blumenfeld, S. Blumenfeld, A. Glazunov, A. Lyadov were regular visitors to the “Belyaevsky Fridays”. Upon returning to Moscow, in 1901, the Gnesin sisters invited Glier to work as a teacher of theoretical subjects in their private music school. Thus began not only long-term cooperation, but also a strong friendship between the composer and the founders of the Music and Pedagogical Institute, and now the Russian Academy of Music. In the same educational institution Reinhold found his destiny: he met a charming girl Maria Renkvist, who initially was his student, and then in 1904 became a wife.

A year later, Maria presented the composer with two lovely twins - Nina and Leah, and then three more children: Roman, Leonid and daughter Valentina. According to the biography of Glier, in the winter of 1905 the composer, together with his family, moved to Germany, where he lived for several years. There he continued to work actively, writing various works, including piano pieces for children at the request of E.F. Gnesinoy, which immediately sent to Moscow. In addition, news of the successful performance of the works of Glier, and not only in Germany, but also in America, came to Russia constantly. In addition to the intensive study of composer creativity Reinhold in Berlin for two years he studied conducting with O. Fried.

The next life period can be described as the time of the creative take-off of the composer. Returning to his homeland, Glier in July 1909 in Kiev debuted as a conductor, and in February of the following year consolidated his success with the performance of his 2nd symphony in the meeting of the Imperial Russian Musical Society. His romances were in the repertoire of famous singers, chamber works were performed in concert halls and at prestigious meetings of the musical public. The famous musical publishing house "Jurgenson" printed all the works of the composer, coming out from his pen.

In 1912, the triumphal premiere performance of Glier’s third symphony, Ilya Muromets, was held, and some time later, for his poem for the Sirens symphony orchestra, he received his second music award to them. M.I. Glinka. The next year, 1913, the composer gladly responded to the proposal to take the post of professor of theoretical disciplines and composition at the newly formed conservatory in Kiev, where after a year at the general meeting he was elected director.

Return to Moscow

Glier returned to Moscow only in 1920 and immediately began actively teaching. He served as professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory, as well as a teacher of theoretical subjects at the Gnesins sisters school and the 3rd State Musical College. In addition, he energetically joined the process of forming the Soviet musical culture, leading the music section of the Moscow department of national education, and becoming an employee of the music department of the People's Commissariat of Education. At the same time, Gliere was an initiative to engage in many-sided educational activities, arranging concerts in various organizations, and becoming a member of the ethnographic section of Proletkult, for several years he was engaged in choral art with students at the Communist University of Eastern Workers.

From the biography of Glier, we learn that in 1923, at the invitation of the government of the AzSSR, he visited Baku to get closer to the works of the Azerbaijani people. The result of such a creative expedition was the opera "Shahsen", whose music was based on the folklore melodic material of Azerbaijan. In 1924, Glier was elected chairman of the Moscow Society of Dramatic Writers and Composers, and in 1938 he again became the highest official, but already in the Union of Soviet Composers. However, in this period, Glier was actively engaged in creative activity.

He toured in different cities of the Soviet Union, speaking with author works in workers' and collective farm clubs, engaged in composer creativity, and besides wrote various articles. In 1941, Reinhold Gliere was awarded the academic degree of Doctor of Art History. Later in the life of the composer, as for all citizens of the Soviet country, the war years began with the hardest trials, nevertheless, Glier continued to work a lot. In this dark period of life, one masterpiece after another comes out from under his pen. What is worth only "Concert for coloratura soprano with orchestra" - a work filled with unusual sincerity, penetration and sincerity. After the war, Glier's lifestyle did not actually change: he also composed and gave a lot of concerts. The composer’s last performance took place in the City Teacher’s House on May 30, 1956, and in less than a month, namely on June 23, an outstanding maestro passed away.

Interesting facts about Reinhold Gliere

• Gliere studied at the conservatory with such zeal and zeal that from his fellow students he received the playful nickname "gray-haired old man." Even his favorite teacher S.I. Taneyev, marveling at his efforts, called him by that funny name.

• Reinhold Moritsevich was not only a talented composer, but also a wonderful teacher. He brought up many outstanding musicians who left a significant mark in musical culture. Among the first students of Glier, with whom he was engaged at the beginning of his teaching career, were Sergei Prokofiev and Nikolai Myaskovsky. The students of the composer at the Kiev Conservatory were L. Revutsky, B. Lyatoshinsky, and M. Frolov, and while working at the Moscow Conservatory he was a favorite teacher with A. Davidenko, A. Novikov, N. Rakov, L. Knipper, I. Capina, L. Polovinkina, A. Khachaturian, B. Khaikin, B. Aleksandrov, N. Ivanov-Radkevich, Z. Kompaneets, G. Litinsky, A. Mosolov, N. Polovinkina, N. Rechmensky.
• The work of Glier in Kiev, the rector of the conservatory, fell on the era of revolutionary coups. At that time, the power in the city changed more than fifteen times. He was arrested five times and sentenced to death for collaborating with a previous hostile regime. Vin Glier was only in that he arranged for students to give concerts, despite the frequent change of government, and representatives of any government liked to attend such events. But under any dictatorship there was always a protector, usually from the former students of the professor, who saved his teacher.
• Reinhold Moritsevich was a very responsive person. Once during the time of the Stalinist repressions, he greatly helped his pupil and colleague Alexander Mosolov, who was convicted for his imprudent statement and was sent to the camp for logging. Glier used all his connections (he was at that time the head of the Union of Composers of the USSR), passed many instances and secured the release of Mosolov.
• When the composer composed his works, he was so immersed in the work that he could not tear himself away from it. During the war, when during the raids of enemy aircraft, everyone fled to the bomb shelter, he always stayed at home, continuing to compose his works.
• Gliera was very lucky in his personal life: he met a woman with whom he lived in love and harmony for over 50 years. The composer was the perfect husband, he adored his wife, every morning he kissed her hand and affectionately called Mania. Chet Glieres are buried nearby at the Novodevichy Cemetery of Moscow.
• Reinhold Moritsevich was a very responsible person. He went to the concert stage, even if he was very sick, and he had a high fever. For him to cancel the speech was unacceptable.
• Biography Glier says that living in Germany, the composer from 1908 began to get involved in anthroposophy - an occult teaching, the founder of which was the doctor of philosophy R. Steiner. Glieir attended a course of lectures in Germany and subsequently, for more than six years, he and his wife were members of various anthroposophical groups and circles, which included artists.

• Reinhold Moritsevich, who loved children very much, understood how important musical and artistic education was for the formation of a personality; therefore, in the 20s, when a young state was being formed, he gladly responded to a request to work in the children's colony. Lunacharsky in Pushkino. For several years, in any weather, at certain times, he came to his wards to tell them about music, practice choir singing, or help in staging a fantastic musical performance.
• In the thirties, the very famous American impresario S. Yurok several times insistently invited Glier to visit the American continent and perform a two-month concert tour as a conductor of author's works, defining this as a significant event in the musical life of the United States and Canada. The composer always refused the offers.
• The outstanding composer will remain in the hearts and memories of people at all times. It is named after the Kiev Institute of Music, as well as music schools in Moscow, Kaliningrad, Uzbek Tashkent, Kazakh Almaty and German Markneukirchen. In addition, the streets in such cities as Lutsk, Donetsk and Magnitogorsk are named after Glier.
• Reinhold Moritsevich Glier was considered by many to be a darling of fate. Three times he was awarded the Glinkin Prize - the most authoritative music prize that existed in Russia before the revolution. In Soviet times, the Russian government honored the composer with such honorary state titles as “Honored Artist”, “Honored Artist” and “People's Artist”. In addition, the title of "People's Artist" he received from the leadership of the Uzbek, Azerbaijani SSR, and then the USSR. In addition, he became the winner of the Stalin Prize three times, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, the Badge of Honor, and three times the Order of Lenin.

Creativity Glier

Ronald Glier, educated in the great traditions of Russian classical music, made an invaluable contribution to the development of world music culture. The composer’s perception of the world was bright and harmonious, so he believed that music should be cheerful, filled with optimism and inspire hope in people. Glier's works are distinguished by emotional balance, emotional penetration, epic scope, broad and expressive melody, as well as sound and compositional integrity.

The creative life of Rheingold Glier, which lasted nearly sixty years, was very successful. His compositions were not only successfully performed, but also often marked by various music and state awards. Композитор, будучи трудоголиком, оставил для потомков богатое наследие, которое включает в себя около пятисот произведений, написанных в различных жанрах. Среди сочинений Глиэра необходимо отметить 5 опер, 6 балетов, 3 симфонии, 5 увертюр, 2 поэмы, концерт для голоса и 4 инструментальных концерта. Кроме этого, композитор писал произведения для народного и духового оркестров, а также камерные произведения и пьесы для различных инструментов: фортепиано, скрипки и виолончели.Listing the compositions of Glier, one can not fail to mention his vocal compositions and music for theatrical performances and films.

He began his trial as a composer Gliere as a teenager: he created small plays for violin and piano as early as 14 years old. The first piece that brought Gliere recognition was the first string sextet in C minor, written in 1898 and dedicated to S.I. Taneyev. For him in 1905, Reingold received the most prestigious Glinka Prize in pre-revolutionary Russia. Then there were, composed in 1899, the quartet, the first symphony and octet, and at the final exam at the conservatory Gliere presented the oratorio "Earth and Sky". Then, from the pen of the fruitful composer, one after another, various works appeared, ranging from simple children's and youth pieces for violin, cello and piano, ending with such major compositions as the poem for the Sirens Symphony Orchestra (1908) and the third symphony (" Ilya Muromets ") (1909), who were subsequently also awarded the Glinka Prize. Then Glier decided to redirect his forces to the musical - stage art and created a ballet - to the pantomime "Khrissis", which premiered in November 1912.

The next important stage in the work of the composer was the period of the 20s. At this time he wrote the symphonic picture "Zaporozhtsy", the opera "Shahsen" and 3 ballets: "Cleopatra", "Comedians" and "Red Poppy" - a significant work, which became the first Soviet ballet, which was based on a modern theme.

A particularly significant period in the work of Glier began from the mid-30s and lasted until the end of his life, it was then that the composer created works that reflected the full strength of his brilliant talent. Among the works written at this time, 3 operas should be distinguished: "Gulsara", "Leyli and Mejnun" (co-authored with T. Sadykov) and "Rachel", as well as magnificent concerts: for coloratura soprano (Stalin prize), harp, French horn , cello and violin. In addition, the famous fourth string quartet (Stalin Prize) and the overtures "Friendship of Peoples", "Fergana Feast" and "Victory" deserve special attention. In the late 40s and early 50s, two remarkable ballets, Taras Bulba and The Bronze Horseman (the Stalin Prize), come out of the composer’s pen, which ends with the symbolic work Hymn to the Great City.

Kiev Conservatory. Dashing years

In 1913, a significant event took place in the musical life of Kiev: the first conservatory opened in Ukraine and, of course, the famous musician-teacher Glier was invited to the newly opened educational institution as a professor of composition. However, the initiative teacher taught students not only writing, but also theoretical disciplines, and besides this he took the lead of the orchestral, chamber and opera classes. A year later, the conservatory team, assessing the business qualities of Glier, elected him rector. Taking all the best achievements in the organization of the educational process of the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories, Glier initiated the creation of an artistic council that developed its own program of study and management of the educational process. A class of the chamber ensemble, an opera studio and a student symphony orchestra, led by the rector, was formed. To support talented students - composers Reinhold Moritsevich established a scholarship to them. A. Scriabin.

Thanks to the prestige and enterprise of Glier, the faculty of the institution was supplemented by such masters as G. Neuhaus and F. Blumenfeld, M. Erdenko, S. Kozolupov, B. Yavorsky, U. Turčinsky and P. Kokhansky. Besides taking an active part in the work of the Russian Musical Society, he organized in Kiev performances of such famous musicians as S. Rakhmaninov, J. Kheyfets, A. Glazunov, S. Kusevitsky, A. Grechaninov, L. Auer, S. Prokofiev, E. Cooper . It is very important to note that Glier’s management activities took place during very difficult military and revolutionary years. He constantly had to “discourage” students from military service, fight for teachers from whom temporary authorities took housing, and also at that time of hunger to achieve food rations for the teaching staff. However, despite all the difficulties, the educational process in the conservatory was not interrupted even for a day.

Glier's music at the cinema

• The earth thirsts (1930)
• Friends meet again (1939)
• Alisher Navoi (1947)
• Red Poppy (1955)
• In the Pacific (1958)
• Ilya Muromets (1975)

Reinhold Moritsevich Glier - the greatest composer, whose role in music art is very difficult to overestimate. His creative legacy is so significant that it forces subsequent generations to speak out about him with great admiration. In addition, he entered the world history of art, not only as a brilliant musician, but also an outstanding figure of Soviet culture.