Despite what people may say about the Russians, being stoic and rather stiff, there is absolutely no doubt that the contribution which this country has made to the arts has been enormous. From Russian painters to poets, authors to philosophers, we have been a nation of thinkers and of people who can create beauty with words and actions. The can be seen in all of its glory in the music which this nation has produced, and classically speaking there aren’t too many countries which could hold a candle to the delightful music that has been created by those from Russia.

This is the spirit which is found in the Moscow Conservatory, a musical institution like no other.

Leading University

Coupled with the St. Petersburg Conservator, there is no doubt that this is one of the leading higher educational musical institutes in the world. The Conservatory offers its students the chance to learn from the very best in order to then go on to become the very best in their chosen musical field. Any Russian who is talented when it comes to music long desires to come to the university to study, yet only the very finest students get in.

History

This university was co-founded in 1866 as the Moscow Imperial Conservatory by Nikolai Rubinstein ( Nikolai was the brother of the highly famous Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein, he was the man who helped to found the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1862) along with Prince Nikolai Petrovitch Troubetzkoy.

To give you an idea of just how exclusive this place is, the first music theory professor who was hired, was none the than the great man himself, Tchaikovsky.

Notable Alumni

Some of the very finest composers and musicians have studied at some point or another in this magnificent university and these are just some of the examples which come to mind.

• Sviatoslav Richter – pianist

• Evgeny Rivkin — pianist

• Mstislav Rostropovich – cellist and conductor

• Mikhail Voskresensky – pianist

• Jacob Weinberg – pianist and composer

• Oleg Yanchenko – organist and conductor

• Marina Yashvili- violinist

• Olga Kiun — pianist

• Leonid Kogan – violinist

• Pavel Kogan – violinist, conductor

• Evgeni Koroliov — pianist

• Vladimir Krainev – pianist

• Gidon Kremer — violinist

• Eduard Kunz – pianist

• Elisabeth Leonskaja – pianist and teacher

• Sergei Rachmaninoff – pianist, composer

As you can see, this is an educational facility with a very fine history indeed.