Born in St Petersburg in 1865, Glazunov enjoyed a career as pianist, conductor and composer extending well into the 20th century. He was a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, and his large catalogue of music was strongly influenced by his mentor’s extensive range of exotic colours. He composed nine symphonies (one incomplete) spread through the first half of his career. Symphony No. 5, dating from 1895, followed Glazunov’s appearance at the World Exhibition in Paris, the point in his career when he finally received international acclaim. Intensely Russian in character, it has a strong relationship with the symphonic music of Tchaikovsky, the mercurial scherzo among Glazunov’s most delightful movements. Symphony No. 8, completed in 1906, contains one of the most stormy and brilliant scherzos in the symphonic repertoire.