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Recent Russian musicological research identifies five distinct phases in Glazunov's creative development^[1]:

The teenage Glazunov's widely acclaimed entry into a prominent position among the leading composers of the New Russian School. His First Symphony (Op. 5, 1881-82) was publicly performed when he was just 17 years old in 1882, and only 7 years after he first attempted to play piano. It was followed by the premiere of his Overture №1 on Greek Themes (Op. 3, 1882) in 1883, and the Overture №2 on Greek Themes (Op. 6, 1883) three months later.

The 21-year-old Glazunov embarked on a complex search for his own creative voice. By gradually moving away from the musical principles of The Mighty Five he was able to assimilate the legacy of the Western European tradition and significantly expand his compositional toolbox.

At this time, Glazunov’s lifelong interest also became apparent - an exploration of how an uninterrupted, fluid transition through each phase of a musical form can be achieved via polyphony. This frequently clashed with his parallel and highly methodical experiments with expressive harmonic and orchestration devices, heavily influenced by his study of Tchaikovsky and Taneev.

During this period, Glazunov wrote two symphonies, thirteen orchestral pieces (The Forest, Spring, Reverie and others), three string quartets, and multiple piano works. His Symphony No. 4 (Op. 48, 1893) became a watershed moment, providing a model, a blueprint for combining his “academic” concerns — the idée fixe of achieving fuid and uninterrupted progress through musical form via polyphony — with an enriched harmonic language and highly effective, sophisticated orchestration.

Glazunov’s “mature” period began around the age of 28 and lasted until he became a professor at the Conservatory, a position that would reduce his compositional output. His output in this period is characterized by a wide range of genres, including symphonic, instrumental, chamber, choral, piano, vocal, and ballet works, as well as exceptional compositional mastery and music of extraordinary beauty.

Glazunov’s creative evolution during this period must be understood against the backdrop of broader developments in Russian culture at the time, particularly in literature, poetry, and painting, which were focused on a profound rethinking of established norms and the search for new expressive tools and form. Tolstoy moved from epic forms to short stories, Chekhov perfected the short story and turned to theater, and graphic artists such as Benois, Bakst, Somov, and others experimented with new types of composition and innovative treatments of color. Glazunov similarly experimented with forms and genres that were atypical in Russian music at the time, including medieval and Renaissance influences, in works such as From Darkness to Light (Op. 53, 1894), Raymonda (Op. 57, 1896), and From the Middle Ages (Op. 79, 1902).

In 1897, he attended the sensational exhibition in St. Petersburg of 18 works by Alphonse Mucha at the International Poster Exhibition. This was followed by Glazunov's one-act ballets Ruses d’Amour (Op. 61, 1898) and, especially, The Seasons (Op. 67, 1900), which closely follows the stylistic approach of Mucha’s graphic series of the same name created between 1897 and 1900.

Despite its short lifespan, beginning in the late 1880s and ending around 1910, Art Nouveau left a deep and profound impression on Russian art and culture. It also influenced every Russian composer of the time^[2]. Its impact was enormous yet highly personal and "personalized", with Scriabin becoming its most consistent and principled disciple, but with all composers incorporating its norms and ideals one way or another.

Glazunov's The Seasons is a remarkable case study of Art Nouveau in Russian music: in orchestration - highly sophisticated "decorative" textures, elaborate ornamentation, a cult of embellishment and detail; in melody - intricate and "emancipated" melodic lines, shapes, phrasing and significant focus on articulation; in harmony and form - merging of foreground and background, irregular rhythm and a deliberate blurring of transitions within the musical form to achieve static, "frozen beauty" nature of a composition.

Glazunov's initial creative output during the period of "directorship" continued to integrate the aesthetic ideals of the Silver Age of Russian poetry and art.

His Introduction and Salomée's Dance (Op. 90, 1908) was written at the time of widespread fascination with the figure of Salome in Russia, following the publication in 1904 of Wilde's tradegy translated by K. Balmont. The theater production of the play wasn't allowed due to censorship, but some theaters staged an abridged version under a different name^[3]. Ida Rubenstein began work on her own production in 1908, with the intention of "art fusion" based on the principles of the Russian Symbolist movement: stage (Meyerhold), choreography (Fokine), design (Bakst), dance (Rubenstein herself) and music (Glazunov).

Rubenstein worked with the most celebrated composers of her time: Stravinsky, Ravel, Onegger, Schmitt and her choice of Glazunov for this production may seem strange in light of his later reputation for conservatism. However, Glazunov was not only the leading Russian composer of the time, but his ballet music was highly distinctive and innovative, he had successful track record and productive experience of collaboration with Fokine and Bakst. The censors only allowed a single scene - Dance of the Seven Veils - to be performed, for which Glazunov wrote the music. The Introduction was a mimed scene, and the Dance was written as seven extended variations on a single theme of distinctly oriental character that reaches an ecstatic intensity. The contrast between Glazunov's and Strauss' interpretation of Salome is also instructive - Glazunov focused less on the dramatic and more on the seductive and exotic. In fact, Glazunov's skill in the integration of "the exotic" into Western musical language was highly regarded by Diaghilev, whose initial plan was to stage Raymonda for the Western audiences, and whose first seasons of Ballet Russes relied heavily on exploiting the West's perception of Russia as "oriental".^[4] .

Glazunov's Symphony No. 8 (Op. 83, 1905) was particularly highly regarded by B. Asafiev, who considered the Andante a masterpiece.

By 1907, Glazunov was the second most popular Russian composer in the West (Tchaikovsky was the first). His tours of London (1902, 1906) and Paris (1907) were considered artistic triumphs. Rimsky-Korsakov regarded Glazunov superior to Strauss and Debussy; and Siloti proclaimed Glazunov's "Pastoral" Symphony No. 7 (Op. 77, 1902) to be second only to Beethoven's^[5].

Glazunov was invited to become a professor of St. Petersburg conservatory even though he didn't have a formal music degree. In addition, the requirement of at least 6 years of work prior to obtaining professorship was waived for him^[6]. When he became the first elected director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, his responsibilities included shaping the philosophy, teaching and evaluation systems, pedagogical frameworks and day to day administration and organization. In a sense, Glazunov became the embodiment of "the establishment" and his growing international recoginition (including the 1907 Cambridge and Oxford degrees) solidified his reputation as the leading musical authority in Russia. However, an article in Russian Musical Gazette published to mark his 50th anniversary noted, with regard to his diminished compositional output:

"Glazunov has held the position of conservatory director without interruption and, it must be acknowledged, has gained a level of popularity and authority not seen in any of his predecessors since A. G. Rubinstein. However, the constant responsibilities of overseeing the conservatory, which has truly become his beloved creation, prevent A[lexander] K[onstantinovich] from dedicating himself fully to his work as a composer."

In 1910, the editor of the Russian Musical Gazette wrote in his private diary:

"Glazunov complained that he could not even sleep from exhaustion. He had completely fallen behind in composing. And where is there time to create? When can one be a musician, when music resounds all day, when art has been reduced to a service, a washroom. I think Rubinstein also fled (twice) from the conservatory, primarily to become an artist again rather than the director of "the musical department" — arguably the most detestable and abnormal kind in the world. As for Glazunov — he had over 1,200 students, all admitted by him!! How could he maintain the level of his former symphonic work?"

Glazunov's later reputation was negatively influenced by contrast between his long-lasting position of institutional authority and being part of musical elite, and the emergence of the "anti-auhority" composers, especially Alexander Scriabin and Igor Stravinsky.

According to research by E. Lobankina^[7], Scriabin's influence on new, younger generation of Russian composers was so immense by 1914 that his music was constantly described as "soaring, unexpected" and "a wirlwind of titanic creative force" and the comparisons with the "aging music of the conservatory director" practically wrote themselves.

Following his emigration in 1928, Glazunov also fell out of favor with the Soviet musicologists^[5] - not a single scholarly work devoted to him was published in Soviet Union and until the 1990s the few instances of systematic engagement with his music were limited to encyclopedias and textbooks on music history.

While Glazunov's credo was indeed creative continuity rather than complete disruption, he did manage to become the first Russian composer to use saxophone as a solo concert instrument in "academic" music, in Saxophone Concerto (Op. 109, 1934) and Saxophone Quartet (Op. 109, 1932). His Concerto ballata (Op. 108, 1931) for cello and orchestra as well as piano works from this period are also still performed.