Jascha Heifetz: Early Years in Russia

4. 1910: St. Petersburg Conservatory and Nalbandian

47 By 1910, Russia boasted two conservatories, one in St. Petersburg, then the capital, and one in Moscow. The St. Petersburg Conservatory was founded in 1862 by Anton Rubinstein and was the first and oldest Russian center of academic musical education. Notable graduates included Tchaikovsky, Lyadov, Fyodor Stravinsky (the composer Igor’s father), Ivan Yershov, Vasily Safonov, and Anna Yesipova. A number ofsignificantpedagogicalschoolsdevelopedattheconservatory,including theviolin schoolofLeopoldAuer,Anna Yesipova’s pianoschool,andAleksandrVerzhbilovich ’scelloschool.InJune1908,ayearandahalfbeforethe Heifetzes arrived in St. Petersburg, the conservatory’s influential head of composition, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, passed away. The memory of the composer lived on at the institution, however, and it is said that RimskyKorsakov ’s coat hook remained vacant for many years. From December 1905 onward, the post of conservatory director was occupied by a former student of Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936). The conservatory generally kept a distance from social and political issues, but the 1905 Russian Revolution led to a struggle for autonomyfromthemainboardoftheIRMO .Thisnewautonomycrystallized in the unanimous vote for Glazunov; earlier, directors had been appointed 1910: St. Petersburg Conservatory and Nalbandian CHAPTER FOUR 48 Jascha Heifetz by the leadership of the IRMO. In 1909, the conservatory’s artistic council voted to give Glazunov a second term and conferred upon him the title of Distinguished Professor. Glazunov’s reign at the conservatory lasted more than twenty years. The conservatory moved several times during its half-century history. It began in the small private home of Demidov on the river Moika, moved to a government building at the fifth corner of Zagorodny Prospekt, and from 1869 was located in the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs on TeatralnayaStreet(nowArchitectRossiStreet).Finally,in1896itmovedto its own space on Teatralnaya Square where it remains to this day. Reconstructed by the architect Vladimir Nikolya, the grey four-story building stands directly opposite the famous Mariinsky Theater. Aslongasastudenthadstrongmusicalabilitiesandcouldpaybetween 200 and 250 rubles per year (300 for auditors), it was not difficult to enroll in the conservatory. Throughout the institution’s history, the offspring of wealthy parents attended the conservatory without needing to take exams or participate in public recitals, and without receiving a certificate or diploma. By contrast, it was much more difficult to receive a partial or full scholarship, and students in this category never numbered more than a quarter of the total student population. The conservatory determined each student’s status upon entry, and after six months it would decide on the exact size of the stipend (after only a month for bass and wind instruments ). Essentially, the greater a student’s success, the larger the subsidy he or she would receive; subsidies varied between 100 and 200 rubles. This moneywenttowardtuitioncosts,sostudentsreceivinga100-rublestipend, forexample,stillpaidbetween50and100rublestocoverthetotalfee.Over the course of the conservatory’s existence, Russian music lovers donated largesumsofmoneyforthepurposeofprovidingscholarships.Ofthe1,762 students enrolled at the conservatory in the 1909–1910 academic year, 150 received stipends.1 Theconservatoryeducationwassplitintotwostages—thepreparatory division, known as the lower course (the equivalent of a middle and high school education today), and the upper course (today’s college conservatory -level education). The IRMO conservatory charter did not impose age restrictions and in relation to admissions simply stated: “People of both 49 1910: St. Petersburg Conservatory and Nalbandian sexes and all classes and conditions are accepted into the conservatory.”2 The St. Petersburg Conservatory’s own rules (at least on paper) restricted the lower course to students ten years and older, and the upper course to those no younger than sixteen and no older than twenty-five.3 The total period of time spent in the conservatory was also not strictly limited; officially , the lower course covered six years of training and the upper course lasted four years, but some students stayed far longer. In terms of general entry requirementsto the conservatory, the charter statedthat “theknowledge necessary for entrance to the conservatory is defined by courses of men’s and women’s progymnasia or of institutions equal to them.”4 This seemingly strict requirement carried the proviso that “for persons possessed of gifts for the development of real artistic talents . . . this level of knowledgemaybesomewhatlowered.”Despitethemanyrulesandregulations , the conservatory strove both to maintain the numbers of students paying the highest fees and to facilitate the development of genuinely talented students, who were allowed somewhat outside the boundaries of regulations. Jascha passed through his conservatory education violating countless rules, which the conservatory administration worked tirelessly to circumvent. Ruvin likely heard all about the conservatory and its rules from...