Glière was an exact contemporary of Ravel and only two years younger than Rachmaninov. He followed the latter's musical path, remaining firmly rooted in the styles of techniques he had learned in his youth and never strayed from the colorful Russian cosmopolitan style. But unlike Rachmaninov, he never left the broad territories of the Russian Empire or its successor, the Soviet Union. His avoidance of any modernist or radical sounds also kept him on the right side of the Soviet demand for accessible "Socialist Realist" art.

This concerto was written in 1938. It uses the instrument's idiomatic texture of arpeggiated chords very frequently; at other times rich chords are used and, in the second movement, a simple melodic texture introduces the main theme for a group of six variations and coda. For the most part the music is amiable and untroubled. When Glière wrote it he sought the advice of harpist Ksenia Erdeli as to the practicality of his music. Her suggestions were so helpful that he offered to give her credit in the publication as co-composer but she refused, insisting that her function was that of an editor. This, then, was the credit she received when the work appeared in print in Russia. However, at least one Western source confuses her with her niece Olga Erdeli, also an important harp soloist, and gives the latter undue credit as editor.

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