Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory (Russian: Санкт-Петербургская государственная консерватория имени Н. А. Римского-Корсакова) is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.
History
The conservatory was founded in 1862 by the Russian pianist and composer Anton Rubinstein. On his resignation in 1867, he was succeeded by Nikolai Zaremba. Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed 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 still preserves its grand staircase and landing. As the city changed its name in the 20th century, the conservatory was duly renamed Petrograd Conservatory (Петроградская консерватория) and Leningrad Conservatory (Ленинградская консерватория).
The school alumni have included such notable composers as Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Artur Kapp, and Rudolf Tobias and Dmitri Shostakovich, who taught at the conservatory during the 1960s, bringing it additional fame. Amongst his pupils were German Okunev and Boris Tishchenko.
Composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 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 five-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)
- Nikolai Zaremba (1867–1871)
- Mikhail Azanchevsky (1871–1876)
- Karl Davydov (1876–1887)
- Yuli Johansen (1891–1897)
- Auguste Bernhard (1897–1905)
- Alexander Glazunov (1905–1928 (formally 1930) – rector)
- A. Mashirov (1930–1933)
- Veniamin Buchstein (1935–1936)
- Boris Zagursky (1936-1939 - rector)
- Pavel Serebryakov (1939—1952, 1962—1977)
- Yuri Briushkov (1952–1962)
- Yuri Bolshiyanov (1977–1979)
- Vladislav Chernushenko (1979–2002)
- Sergei Roldugin (2002–2004)
- Alexander Chaikovsky (2004–2008)
- Sergei Stadler (2008–2011)
- Mikhail Gantvarg (2011-)
Notable faculty
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Notable graduates
 Graduates of the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg Conservatory include Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergey Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, and George Balanchine.
ReferencesExternal links
Coordinates: 59°55′34″N 30°17′54″E / 59.9260°N 30.2982°E
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