Tchaikovsky
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Elena Glazunova (1846–1925)

Elena Glazunova

Mother of the composer Aleksandr Glazunov (b. 1846; d. 1925), born Elena Pavlovna Turygina (Елена Павловна Турыгина, Yelena Pavlovna Turigina); known after her marriage as Elena Pavlovna Glazunova (Елена Павловна Глазунова, Yelena Pavlovna Glazunova).

Elena was the daughter of Pavel Andreevich Turygina and his wife Elena Sergeevna (b. Gromova). On 25 October 1863 in Saint Petersburg she married Konstantin Il'ich Glazunov (1828–1914), the scion of a notable dynasty of book publishers. Their eldest child was the Russian composer Aleksandr Glazunov (1865–1936). Deeply fond of music as she was, Elena, even after the birth of Aleksandr, continued to have piano lessons with Teodor Leszetycki, a professor at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. In the latter half of the 1870s Milii Balakirev became her musical mentor, and in later years, apart from the piano, she also studied music theory under the supervision of Nikolai Rimskii-Korsakov. Elena might have become an accomplished concert pianist had it not been for her anxiety over playing in public. At home, however, she enthusiastically played both piano pieces and transcriptions of symphonic works, which meant that her beloved eldest son, Aleksandr ("Sasha") grew up in a highly musical atmosphere. Professional musicians were frequent guests in the Glazunovs' house, playing at the soirées organized by Elena.

Although she did not yet imagine that Aleksandr would himself pursue a musical career, in 1879, when he turned fourteen, she asked Balakirev whether he was willing to give him lessons. Balakirev immediately recognized the boy's extraordinary talent and agreed to take charge of his general musical education, while Rimskii-Korsakov was to teach him composition theory. Elena was at first worried that these lessons would take up too much time and distract him from his studies at school, but Aleksandr was able to convince her that music, rather than carrying on the family business, was his real vocation.

Since Glazunov did not have a family of his own, Elena Pavlovna continued to look after him devotedly right until her death in 1925.

Tchaikovsky's correspondence with Elena Glazunova:

• 1 letter from Tchaikovsky to Elena Glazunova has survived, dating from 1892.

Bibliography

• Andrei Kriukov, Aleksandr Konstantinovich Glazunov (Moscow, 1984)