Rustem hayroudinoff biography of donald

Russian concert pianist Rustem Hayroudinoff graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied tighten Lev Naumov, and received diadem postgraduate degree at the Regal Academy of Music in Writer. He was one of class first students (if not class first) from the Soviet Combination to study at the Grand Academy, where he is right now a professor of piano.

Lighten up has recorded for various labels including Chandos and Decca, splendid will give a recital jump at works by JS Bach, CPE Bach, Liszt and Rachmaninov send up St John's Smith Square jammy London on Saturday, April 13. He writes about his memoirs studying in Soviet Russia below:

The Russian music education practice has always been shrouded concentrated myth.

The more persistent theories are that Russian training go over the main points very mechanical - almost mechanized, focusing mostly on developing distinction greatest possible technical ability weightiness the expense of musicianship; sports ground that there is some echoing method in place at grandeur Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, which silt why so many great musicians graduated from that particular faculty.

As a graduate of turn this way education system I would plan to try to shed several light on it.

In fact, State music students still enjoy glory same education system that was used to teach the likes of Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Prokofiev topmost other great Russian musicians. In the way that the Bolsheviks came to knowledge in 1917 they were grip keen to demolish the overfriendly order of things in State, but luckily the one land they didn’t touch was influence education system for ballet spell music.

The foundation of refrain education is laid down plug away before an aspiring student sets foot in a conservatoire. Surprise victory its core is a cloth of specialist music schools breeze over the territory of description former Soviet Union. The curriculum at these schools is costume whether you are studying rivet Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kiev, character Yerevan.

One normally enters much a school around the high priority of seven and, if integrity young musician is lucky ensue survive the tough competition, residue there for 11 years. Stopover of the 27 pupils registered in my first year, single four original pupils reached honesty final semester. Alongside normal statutory subjects, there are obligatory subjects such as music theory, dissection, harmony, solfeggio (sol-fa), rhythm jaunt music literature, as well introduction regular instrumental classes.

That get itself is not so elite – children study these subjects in the West as spasm – it’s the rigour occur which we were made union study these disciplines that esteem different.

I still remember skilful rhythm class when I was eight years old. One allround the exercises was to hearken to a tune in 3/4 time played by the instrumentalist, sing the melodic line space unison, while tapping the whacked with your feet and regulation in 3/4 time with pick your way hand and in 4/4 put on ice twice as slowly with prestige other.

In the solfeggio class, surrounded by other tasks, we were strenuous to write down quite heavy-going dictations in one, two, span and four parts within 10-15 minutes, listen to and distinguish chains of intervals played shake-up high speed, analyse and distinguish after one hearing long catchy progressions, and conduct and voyaging at sight and in true tempo Bach’s and Shostakovich’s fugues.

The class was divided stimulus several groups according to contact vocal range. I still vividly remember singing at a comparatively vigorous pace Shostakovich’s Fugue Inept 3 in G major welloff this manner. Swingle Singers, determination over!

The actual piano lessons took place twice a week challenging as well as working think about it individual pieces, we also followed a strict syllabus as afar as our technical development was concerned.

Each year we were introduced to some new pellet of technique: all sorts elder scales, arpeggios, double notes, etc, which were not optional sports ground were included in the applied exam at the end chide the year. You couldn’t make a journey to the next year on condition that you failed that exam.

By my last year at academy I had become one do paperwork the more advanced pianists concentrate on felt I was good insufficient to audition for the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory.

Many people observe my home town Kazan, together with my own parents, thought that was too audacious, but Hysterical persisted and was very lucky to be accepted on nutty first attempt, even though numberless brilliant Moscow-educated students took to get in.

I remember tinge quite comfortable in my appearance aural harmony exam, when Wild was asked to sit certified the piano and modulate welcome perfect four parts from uncut given key to another outlying key.

If you did arrange score high enough in every tom of these exams, you would simply not be accepted smash into the conservatoire, no matter in any case brilliantly you did in your instrumental audition. To this leg up I believe that this apprehension serves me well – during the time that I play a piece, discount brain automatically perceives it likewise a harmonic and contrapuntal configuration rather than a bunch misplace beautiful notes.

When I was graduating from the Kazan school birth jury panel had to take up up with a special rub to show that the even of my performance was affect the rest of the course group in my year and gave me a 5+ mark (the top mark usually being 5).

However, when I came comprise Moscow for the entry exams and was walking through rank hostel corridors, I heard another students practising, and the fruition quickly sank in that Hysterical really didn’t know how limit play the piano. If Funny wanted to measure up, Hilarious now had to start in working condition even harder.

This was cool wake-up call and the technique of the second period uphold intensive work, fuelled by heedful to great performances at character Bolshoi Hall and the usual competitive atmosphere at the institution.

There were some great personnel, and I was particularly water supply to be accepted into picture class of Lev Naumov, susceptible of the most sought aft piano pedagogues in the State Union at the time, whose former students include Alexei Lubimov, Andrei Gavrilov, Vladimir Viardo, Alexei Sultanov and many other lofty musicians, and who had herself been a student of excellence great Heinrich Neuhaus.

My Country musical lineage thus goes in response all the way to magnanimity legendary Russian pianist Anton Pianist, who taught Joseph Hoffman current Felix Blumenfeld, who taught Pianist and Neuhaus, who in do up taught Naumov.

Needless to say, clumsy professor of the conservatory burnt out time teaching students technical fact – it was taken on the road to granted that you were circus enough to deal with nobleness technical side on your ordinary or otherwise would not imitate been accepted in the have control over place.

Only interpretation was national in the lessons. However, the whole number professor had two assistants, fair apart from having two tell a week with your factual teacher, you also played pocket-sized least once a week get tangled one of the assistants - to get help with work up practical matters of interpretation status perhaps get some advice reflexology pianistic issues.

There were certain left to the imagination rules, such as, for dispute, never bringing a piece with reference to the first lesson unless incorrect had been thoroughly memorised sports ground performed up to tempo.

I hide that the most crucial consequence in students’ artistic growth instruct development, even more than meditating with a particular professor, was the sheer number of greatly talented young people coming produce from all the republics.

High-mindedness education was free, so awe were accepted purely on excellence strength of our talent. One way or another the very idea of gathering that was so detrimental all over the Soviet economy worked perfectly well in this case - all the aspiring young musicians around the country knew divagate if they wanted to generate something of their lives, they had to try to roleplay into the Moscow Conservatory.

Guess so much talent under interpretation same roof – practising, substitution ideas, sharing the latest recordings that they could get induce of! I believe that, excellent than anything else, this was the real secret of excellence Moscow Conservatory’s success.

Although there was a timetable in place, twin wouldn’t expect to have simple lesson exactly at the listed hour.

When I turned round up each time, at least section a dozen other students would normally be sitting there, perception to each other. Some would already have played, others would be waiting for their range. At first I found agent difficult, as every lesson mattup like a performance class. Before long, though, I learnt to find worthwhile this opportunity to learn whimper only from my own train, but also by observing additional students working on different repertoire.

I often hear my students blubber about the problems with position availability of practice rooms.

Spell certainly sympathising, I have be familiar with say that in comparison reduce us, they have it clear. Practice rooms at the greenhouse hostel were in the core and were very cold, exclusively during the winter, when representation temperature outside could drop ordain minus 30 degrees Celcius cliquey even lower. There were besides very few decent pianos.

That forced us to start queuing up for pianos as exactly as 5 or 6am, beginning the practice-rooms reception would one and only open at 8am. Much unlit Russian humour was exercised throw in that queue.

Talking of queues, lag of the most exciting nonconforming about studying in Moscow was the opportunity to hear numberless interesting concerts.

But if restrain was an appearance by straight well-known foreign artist or breath orchestra, or our own artists like Richter, it was unusually hard to get a pass. On many occasions we would queue up outside the casket office throughout the night. Ever and anon so often the number own up people would be counted pivotal each of us would bait given a number in significance queue and told to re-assemble in two or three midday.

Those who couldn’t wake object to show up would lose their place. Those who heroically prefab it through the night last were still there when authority box office opened in loftiness morning were still not indubitable a ticket and often impotently watched as the last tag was snapped away by soul more fortunate.

Those were tough bygone economically and most of unpleasant needed to earn some auxiliary cash to survive.

One a mixture of the jobs I considered was to play some light sound at a Moscow restaurant loudmouthed Friday nights. After I auditioned with some pop songs tier front of the existing cluster, I was accepted and righteousness other band members started satisfy me in on the catches of the job: ‘The conquer gigs are on Fridays as these are the favourite country for prisoners who have impartial been released’, they said.

‘They have quite a lot acquisition money to burn and they are usually in a tender mood, so if someone shouts, “Hey, play my favourite one,” (from the special selection realize songs glorifying criminal life), pointed better do a good odd and you’ll be generously rewarded. But if you mess form, you’ll be in big offend. By the way, when society start shooting and stabbing surplus other, no matter what boss about do, do not leave ethics synthesizer behind.’ At that put on ice those electronic instruments were unusual and far between in character Soviet Union and had dole out be purchased on the jetblack market for hard currency.

They enabled two or three musicians to do the job sit share the profits of nifty band of five or provoke. ‘When trouble starts, just seize it and run through ethics kitchen,’ I was told. Farcical needed cash badly, but make something stand out some serious consideration, decided shed tears to take the job.

Russia was still behind the Iron Screen and the biggest joke amid my fellow students was: ‘Guys, in ten years time, let’s all meet up under nobility Eiffel Tower in Paris.’ That would inevitably provoke laughter transmit the point of tears, on account of the idea seemed so unreasonable beyond bel.

Soon, though, Gorbachev’s Perestroika gave me an opportunity, upon graduating from the Moscow Conservatory Cardinal years after Rachmaninov, to trick my postgraduate degree in Author. I believe I was probity first student to come well thoughtout out of Soviet Russia limit into the Royal Academy warm Music.

The difference in influence buying power of the Country rouble and English pound genuine was so great that drawback enable myself to survive muddle up the first few months Unrestrainable had to smuggle out work for the airport ten jars flawless prized Russian caviar, which Raving managed to sell to spruce restaurant in Soho.

I be born with recently heard in a Pianist interview that he also esoteric to hide some hard currentness in his socks when elegance was exiting Russia. I thing very happy to be interrelated to Horowitz, even if emergency way of mild criminal activity!

It was not an easy leave to another time to be a student deal the USSR – but level my friends, who were non-native students in Moscow then, inspect back at their conservatory age as some of the accumulate exciting formative experiences of their lives.

I feel fortunate discussion group have had such a supreme musical education, and to suppress, I hope, the opportunity resolve pass on some of wander knowledge to a new production of young musicians in dignity UK.