Glière, despite the nature of his name appearing to be French or Belgian, was in fact born in modern-day Ukraine, when Kiev was part of the Russian Empire. At 16 he entered the Kiev school of music, graduating with a gold medal in composition at the age of 25. He later taught Sergei Prokofiev, and by the time he was 38 he was appointed the director of the newly elevated Kiev Conservatory. At 45 he moved to Moscow to teach at the conservatory there. He was inspired by the ballerina Yekaterina Vasilyevna Geltzer and wrote *The Red Poppy* which was considered "the first Soviet ballet on a revolutionary subject". Despite this, he was able to steer clear of being associated with either revolution or Tsarism, which afforded him greater success. ![[Pasted image 20251207234630.png]]