The history of professional composition for a woodwind ensemble in Russia dates back to the late 18th century. The works in this domain are singular and therefore possess special interest. Dmitri Bortnyansky (1751–1825) was one of the first Russian composers who turned to this domain. The subsequent compositions for woodwind ensemble appeared in Russian music only a few decades later thanks to Alexander Alyabyev (1787–1851). After him, many of the 19th century Russian composers turned to writing music for woodwind ensemble – Mikhail Glinka, Anton Rubinstein, Mily Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Taneyev and Alexander Glazunov.
The Trio pathétique in D minor for clarinet, bassoon and piano became Mikhail Glinka's (1804 1857) last chamber instrumental composition. It was written in 1832 during Glinka's travel to Italy and premiered in Milan by Pietro Tassistro (clarinet) and Antonio Cantù (bassoon) from the Teatro alla Scala orchestra. Glinka played the piano part. Later on, at the editor's insistence, Glinka made a version of the Trio for violin, cello and piano. Since the parts in these versions are interchangeable, the trio is sometimes performed by the clarinet, cello and piano.
The Octet for piano, flute, oboe, horn, violin, viola, cello and double bass, Op. 3 was the only Mily Balakirev's (1836–1910) piece for chamber ensemble. Only the first movement of the Octet was finished in the score. The beginning of the second (clean) copy of the first movement, sketches of the development of the first movement (not included in the finished score) and the beginning of Scherzo can be found among Balakirev's drafts.
The Octet was created in 1853 to 1855. According to Balakirev, he showed his work to Glinka and received a positive response: “Glinka was friendly to me, and I would come to him mostly in the morning showing him my compositions of that time, which also included Allegro from the octet … Glinka was favourable to them, gave me some useful advice regarding the instrumentation. It continued until his departure for Berlin where he went to on 27 April 1856 and where he never returned from.” (Glinka died in Berlin in 1857).
The musical picture An Evening in Georgia, Op. 71, is an elegant miniature by Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and harp (or piano) in the vein of the oriental style of the 19th century. It was no coincidence that the composer turned to this subject. Ippolitov-Ivanov (1859–1935), a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov, played a significant part in the development of Georgian music culture. He lived in Tbilisi in 1882 to 1893, where he headed the local branch of the Russian Music Society, taught music history at a music school, conducted symphonic concerts and operas, and also collected and researched Georgian folk music.
Along with the Concerto for saxophone and string orchestra in E flat major, the Saxophone Quartet in B flat major (both are Op. 109) is among Alexander Glazunov's (1865–1936) last compositions. The Quartet was written in 1932 in Paris, dedicated to the Artists of the Republican Guard and performed by them in December 1933. “The performers are so virtuosic that it's hard to imagine that they play the same instruments you hear in jazzes. I am stunned with their breathing and tirelessness, as well as lightness and pure intonation,” Glazunov wrote to Maximilian Steinberg before the forthcoming premiere of the Quartet. The Quartet comprises soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. The composer emphasized the emotional depth and nobility of sound so characteristic of the saxophone, and used the technical and expressive range of the instrument in a diverse fashion.
