The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) (formerly known as the Petrograd Conservatory and Leningrad Conservatory) is a

school of music A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

in Saint Petersburg, Russia. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.

History

The conservatory was founded in 1862 by the Russian Music Society and Anton Rubinstein, a Russian pianist and

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

. On his resignation in 1867, he was succeeded by

Nikolai Zaremba Nikolai or Nicolaus Ivanovich von Zaremba (russian: Никола́й Ива́нович Заре́мба; ) was a Russian musical theorist, teacher and composer. His most famous student was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who became his pupil in 1861. Ot ...

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

was appointed as a professor in 1871, and the conservatory has borne his name since 1944. In 1887, Rubinstein returned to the conservatory with the goal of improving overall standards. He revised the curriculum, expelled inferior students, fired and demoted many professors, and made entrance and examination requirements more stringent. In 1891, he resigned again over the Imperial demand of racial quotas. The current building was erected in the 1890s on the site of the old Bolshoi Theatre of Saint Petersburg, and it still preserves its grand staircase and landing. As the city changed its name in the 20th century, the conservatory was renamed Petrograd Conservatory (Петроградская консерватория) and Leningrad Conservatory (Ленинградская консерватория). The school alumni have included such notable composers as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Artur Kapp, and

Rudolf Tobias Rudolf Tobias ( – 29 October 1918) was the first Estonian professional composer, as well as a professional organist. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. His compositions include among others piano works, string quartets and an or ...

and

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...

, who taught at the conservatory during the 1960s. Amongst his pupils were

German Okunev German Grigoryevich Okunev ( rus, Ге́рман Григо́рьевич О́кунев; 12 June 1931, in Leningrad – 12 June 1973, in Leningrad) was a Soviet Union, Soviet Russian people, Russian composer, piano, pianist and teacher. Life Oku ...

and

Boris Tishchenko Boris Ivanovich Tishchenko (Russian Бори́с Ива́нович Ти́щенко; 23 March 1939 – 9 December 2010) was a Russian and Soviet composer and pianist. Life Tishchenko was born in Leningrad. He studied at the Leningrad Music ...

. Composer

taught at the conservatory for almost forty years, and his bronze monument is located outside the building in Theatre Square. The youngest musician ever admitted to the conservatory was four-year-old violinist Clara Rockmore, who later became one of the world's foremost theremin players.

Directors and rectors

* Anton Rubinstein (1862–1867 and 1887–1891) *

(1867–1871) *

Mikhail Azanchevsky Mikhail Pavlovich (von) Azanchevsky (russian: Михаи́л Па́влович (фон) Азанче́вский), – ) was a Russian composer and music teacher. He was the director of the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1871-1876. Not long befor ...

(1871–1876) *

Karl Davydov Karl Yulievich Davydov (russian: Карл Юльевич Давидов; ) was a Russian cellist of great renown during his time, and described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. Hi ...

(1876–1887) * Julius Johansen (1891–1897) * Auguste Bernhard (1897–1905) *

Alexander Glazunov Alexander Konstantinovich Glazunov; ger, Glasunow (, 10 August 1865 – 21 March 1936) was a Russian composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Russian Romantic period. He was director of the Saint Petersburg Conservatory between 1905 ...

(1905–1928) (formally 1930) – rector * A. Mashirov (1930–1933) * Veniamin Buchstein (1935–1936) * Boris Zagursky (1936–1939) – rector *

Pavel Serebryakov Pavel Alexeyevich Serebryakov (February 28, 1909 in Tsaritsyn – August 17, 1977 in Leningrad) was a Soviet pianist. Serebryakov began touring the USSR after ranking 2nd at the I National Competition (1933). A professor at the Leningrad Conser ...

(1939–1952, 1962–1977) * Yuri Briushkov (1952–1962) * Yuri Bolshiyanov (1977–1979) * Vladislav Chernushenko (1979–2002) *

Sergei Roldugin Sergei Pavlovich Roldugin (Russian: Сергей Павлович Ролдугин, born September 28, 1951 Sakhalin) is a Russian cellist and businessman, based in St Petersburg. He is a close friend of Vladimir Putin. He has been implicated i ...

(2002–2004) * Alexander Chaikovsky (2004–2008) *

Sergei Stadler Sergei Stadler (Russian: Сергей Стадлер) is a Russian violinist and conductor. He is currently Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Symphony Orchestra. Biography Laureate of the international music compet ...

(2008–2011) * Mikhail Gantvarg (2011–2015) * Aleksey Vasilyev (since 2015)

Notable faculty

Boris Abalyan Boris Abalyan (born October 28, 1947) is a Russian choir conductor. He founded the Lege Artis Chamber Choir in 1987 and is its chief conductor. References 1947 births Living people Russian choral conductors 21st-century Russian condu ...

(conducting) * Leopold Auer ( violin) * Vladimir Bakaleinikov ( viola) *

Louis Brassin Louis Brassin (24 June 184017 May 1884) was a Belgian pianist, composer and music educator. He is best known now for his piano transcription of the ''Magic Fire Music'' from Wagner's ''Die Walküre''. Career Louis Brassin was born in Aix-la-Chap ...

( piano) *

Vitaly Bujanovsky Vitaly Mikhailovich Bujanovsky or Buyanovsky (russian: link=no, Виталий Михайлович Буяновский; 27 August 1928, in Leningrad – 5 May 1993, in Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet Russian classical horn player, music teacher a ...

(French Horn) *

Georgiy Ginovker Dr. Georgiy Ginovker (Russian: Георгий Гиновкер) was born in St. Petersburg, Russia. He was principal cellist of Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra for many years. His primary teachers include Mstislav Rostropovich and Aleksande ...

( cello,

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

) * Edouard Grikurov (

conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary duti ...

) * Artur Lemba (piano) * Theodor Leschetizky (piano) * Nikolai Malko (conducting) * Ilya Musin (conducting) *

Leonid Nikolayev Leonid Vasilevich Nikolaev (10 May 1904 – 29 December 1934) was the assassin of Sergei Kirov, the first secretary of the Leningrad branch of the Communist Party. Early life Nikolaev was a troubled young Soviet Communist Party member in ...

(piano) * Cesare Pugni (violin,

counterpoint In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more musical lines (or voices) which are harmonically interdependent yet independent in rhythm and melodic contour. It has been most commonly identified in the European classical tradi ...

, composition) *

Alexander Radvilovich Alexander Yuryevich Radvilovich (russian: Александр Юрьевич Радвилович; born 1955) is a Russian composer, pianist, teacher, and lecturer from Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) who specializes in contemporary music discourse ...

(composition) *

( composition,

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

) * Anton Rubinstein (piano, the history of piano literature) * Karl Bogdànovich Schuberth (cello) *

(composition) * Sergei Slonimsky (composition) * Vladimir Sofronitsky – piano * Nikolai Tcherepnin (conducting) *

(composition) * Aleksandr Verzhbilovich ( cello) * Zino Vinnikov ( violin) *

Jāzeps Vītols Jāzeps Vītols (german: Joseph Wihtol; 26 July 1863 – 24 April 1948) was a Latvian composer, pedagogue and music critic. He is considered one of the fathers of Latvian classical music. Biography Vītols, born in Valmiera the son of a sc ...

(composition) * Hieronymus Weickmann (viola) *

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...

(violin) * Alexander Winkler (piano) * Anna Yesipova (piano) *

(composition, harmony) *

Anatoly Zatin Anatoly Zatin (Anatoli Zatine, russian: link=no, Анатолий Борисович Затин) (born 23 March 1954, Uzhhorod, Soviet Ukraine; now Ukraine), is a composer, pianist, orchestral conductor and pedagogue. Born in the USSR, he acquir ...

(composition, orchestration, chamber music) * Leah Zelikhman (piano)

Notable graduates

Anton Arensky Anton Stepanovich Arensky (russian: Анто́н Степа́нович Аре́нский; – ) was a Russian composer of Romantic classical music, a pianist and a professor of music. Biography Arensky was born into an affluent, music-loving ...

- composer *

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

– choreographer *

Leonid Balay Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic languages, Slavic version of the given name Leonidas I, Leonidas. The French language, French version is Leonide. People with the name include: *Leonid ...

- composer * Alexander Barantschik - violin * Semyon Barmotin - pianist, composer, teacher * Richard Burgin – violinist, conductor * Semyon Bychkov - conductor * Joseph Cherniavsky - cellist, conductor *

Peter Chernobrivets Peter Anatolievich Chernobrivets ( rus, Пётр Анато́льевич Чернобри́вец, born on 24 August 1965 in Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrogra ...

– composer, musicologist * Leonid Desyatnikov – composer * Sergei Diaghilev – impresario *

Sandra Drouker Sandra Droucker (Drouker or Droucher) (7 May 18751 April 1944) was a Russian concert pianist, composer and music pedagogue. Life and career Sandra Droucker was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, the daughter of a Jewish German father and a mother wh ...

- pianist * Heino Eller – composer * Valery Gergiev – conductor * Jascha Heifetz – violinist *

Aida Huseynova Aida Huseynova ( – 20 June 2022) was a musicologist, pianist, and ethnomusicologist from Azerbaijan. She spent the last decade and a half of her career teaching in the Music in General Studies program at Indiana University--Bloomington and se ...

– musicologist and ethnomusicologist *

Alexander Ilyinsky Alexander Alexandrovich Ilyinsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Алекса́ндрович Ильи́нский; 23 February 1920) was a Russian music teacher and composer, best known for the ''Lullaby (Berceuse)'', Op. 13, No. 7, from his orch ...

– music teacher and composer * Mariss Jansons – conductor *

Alfrēds Kalniņš Alfrēds Bruno Jānis Kalniņš (23 August 1879, in Cēsis, Governorate of Livonia – 23 December 1951, in Riga, Latvian SSR) was a Latvian people, Latvian composer, organist, pedagogue, music critic and Conducting, conductor; the founder of n ...

– composer, organist * Artur Kapp – composer *

Leokadiya Kashperova Leokadiya Aleksandrovna Kashperova (russian: Леокадия Александровна Кашперова; 16 May 1872 – 3 December 1940) was a Russian pianist and Romantic music, Romantic composer. She was the piano teacher of composer Igor S ...

- pianist, composer *

Yuri Khanon Yuri Khanon is a pen name of ''Yuri Feliksovich Soloviev-Savoyarov'' (russian: Юрий Феликсович Соловьёв-Савояров),

– composer, writer, laureate of the European Film Awards. * Eduard Khil – singer *

Vladimir Khomyakov Vladimir Vladimirovich Khomyakov (Russian: Влади́мир Влади́мирович Хомяко́в; born August 6, 1984) is a classical pianist. Early years Vladimir Khomyakov was born in Kirovorgad (Ukraine) to a family of professional ...

– pianist * Nadine Koutcher – opera singer * Gustav Kross - pianist * Miroslav Kultyshev - pianist *

Eugene Levinson Eugene Levinson is the former principal double bassist of the New York Philharmonic and teaches at the Juilliard School. Career According to the New Method for Double Bass (Carl Fischer edition), Levinson, who was born in Kiev, began to study mu ...

- Double bassist * Anatoly Lyadov – composer, teacher, conductor * Sasha Mäkilä – Finnish conductor * Witold Maliszewski – composer * Nathan Milstein – violinist *

Nevsky String Quartet Nevsky String Quartet (Quinten Quartet, until 1998) is a string quartet based in St. Petersburg, Russia. They are noted for their award-winning performances of Russian music and their performances of contemporary music. History and Repertoire The ...

* Tomomi Nishimoto - conductor * Nikolai Obukhov – composer *

Leo Ornstein Leo Ornstein (born ''Лев Орнштейн'', ''Lev Ornshteyn''; – February 24, 2002) was an American experimental composer and pianist of the early twentieth century. His performances of works by avant-garde composers and his own innovative ...

– composer * Sergei Prokofiev – composer, pianist, conductor *

Gal Rasché Galina Mauracher (born 13 March 1960 as Galina Viktorovna Krutikova, rus, Галина Викторовна Крутикова in Saint Petersburg, Leningrad), known professionally as Gal Rasché, is a Russian-Austrian pianist, music teacher and ...

- conductor, pianist, teacher *

Nadia Reisenberg Nadia Reisenberg Sherman (14 July 1904 – 10 June 1983) was an American pianist of Lithuanian birth. Biography Nadia Reisenberg was born in Vilnius to a Jewish family. Her parents were Aaron and Rachel Reisenberg., adapted from Dr. Anne K. Gray' ...

- pianist * Clara Rockmore – violin prodigy, theremin performer * Livery Antonovich Sacchetti – Russian music historian * David Serero - opera singer *

Ilya Serov Ilya Serov (born November 8, 1986) is an American trumpeter and singer. Ilya Serov is a Los Angeles-based jazz trumpet player and singer. Serov released his first album, ''September In The Rain'', in December 2013. Serov was named Best New Artis ...

- trumpeter * Don Shirley - pianist, arranger, composer *

– composer, pianist * Nadezhda Simonyan - composer * Kuldar Sink — composer, flautist * Vladimir Sofronitsky – pianist *

Grigory Sokolov Grigory Lipmanovich Sokolov (russian: Григо́рий Ли́пманович Соколо́в; born April 18, 1950) is a Russian pianist naturalized Spain, Spanish. He is among the most esteemed of living pianists, his repertoire spanning compo ...

– pianist * Lyubov Streicher - composer * Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky – composer * Yuri Temirkanov – conductor * Dimitri Tiomkin – pianist, composer *

Elena Tsallagova Elena Tsallagova is a Russian operatic soprano who has performed at major opera houses and festivals in Europe. She was noticed internationally as Nanetta in Verdi's ''Falstaff (opera), Falstaff'' at the Glyndebourne Festival Opera, Glyndebourne ...

– soprano * Vera Vinogradova-pianist, composer * Zino Vinnikov – violinist * Solomon Volkov – musicologist *

Ivan Yershov Ivan Vasiliyevitch Yershov or Ershov (russian: Иван Васильевич Ершов) (November 8, 1867 – November 21, 1943), PAU, was a Soviet and Russian opera singer. He earned renown for his brilliant performances at the Mariinsky Theat ...

– singer * Anna Yesipova – pianist *

Mikhail Youdin Mikhail Youdin (29 September 1893 St. Petersburg – 8 February 1948 Kazan) was a Russian composer. He studied at Saint Petersburg Conservatory, where he began teaching in 1926, and is best remembered for his 1943 opera Opera is a form ...

– composer * Maria Yudina – pianist *

Stefania Anatolyevna Zaranek Stefania Anatolyevna Zaranek (23 September 190417 January 1972) was a Soviet composer, pianist, and artistic director. Zaranek was born in Kotelnich, Russian Empire, and studied at the Leningrad Conservatory with M. Steinberg and Samariy Savshins ...

- composer *

- composer, pianist, conductor *

Valery Zhelobinsky Valery Viktorovich Zhelobinsky (russian: Bалерий Bикторович Желобинский; November 9, 1913, Tambov – August 13, 1946, Saint Petersburg, Leningrad) was a Soviet and Russian composer, pianist and pedagogue. Life and w ...

– pianist, composer * Efrem Zimbalist - violinist

References

External links

Official website
(in Russian, French and English)

{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1862 1862 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg