Ilya Musin
Encyclopedia
Ilya Aleksandrovich Musin ( – 6 June 1999) was a Russia
n conductor, a prominent teacher and a theorist of conducting.
He began his conducting studies under the conductors Nikolai Malko
and Aleksandr Gauk
. In 1934, Musin became assistant to Fritz Stiedry
with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Later, he was sent by the Soviet government to lead State Belorussian Orchestra. Because Musin never joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
, his conducting career was curtailed by the Soviet government; he then channelled his creative output into pedagogy, creating a school of conducting, still referred to as the "Leningrad conducting school". During the war years (1941–45), he was in Tashkent
, Uzbekistan
, where most of Russian intellectual forces were kept safe; he continued conducting and teaching. On the anniversary of the Nazi invasion (June 22, 1942), he conducted the second performance of Shostakovich
's Symphony No. 7
.
In 1932, Musin was invited to teach conducting at Saint Petersburg Conservatory
(then known as the Leningrad Conservatory). He developed a comprehensive theoretical system, truly a science of the conducting gesture, mastering of which allowed the student to communicate with orchestras with the hands only, with minimum of verbal instructions, down to the minutest detail. No one hitherto had tried to formulate a science of conducting gesture in such detail and clarity as Musin did. Apparently, his own early years as a student of conducting had prompted him to study the intricacies of manual technique; the explanation is that when in 1926 Musin tried to enter Malko's conducting class at the Leningrad Conservatory, he was denied entrance for the reason of his weak manual technique. He pleaded with Malko to be accepted on a provisional basis, and over the years in fact became the supreme authority on manual technique, having developed a system, which he expounded in his book The Technique of Conducting. This fundamental work is still available only in Russian
and Bulgarian; since its publication (1967), it has been a rarity even in Russia. Musin formulated the main principal of his method in these words: "A conductor must make music visible to his musicians with his hands. There are two components to conducting, expressiveness and exactness. These two components are in a dialectical opposition with each other; in fact, they cancel each other out. A conductor must find the way to bring the two together."
His pedagogical career spanned 60 years of teaching; his pedagogical legacy lives on in the hundreds of his students; among them are Rudolf Barshai
, Semyon Bychkov, Tugan Sokhiev
, Sabrie Bekirova, Oleg Caetani
, Vassily Sinaisky
, Konstantin Simeonov, Odyssey Dimitriadi, Vladislav Chernushenko, Victor Fedotov, Leonid Shulman, Arnold Katz, Andrey Tchistyakov, Sian Edwards, Martyn Brabbins
, Kim Ji Hoon, Peter Jermihov, Yuri Temirkanov
, Vladislav Chachin, Valery Gergiev
, Ennio Nicotra and many others.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n conductor, a prominent teacher and a theorist of conducting.
He began his conducting studies under the conductors Nikolai Malko
Nikolai Malko
-Biography:Malko was born in Semaky, Ukraine. His father was Ukrainian, his mother Russian. He studied philology at St Petersburg University. He published articles on music criticism in the Russian press and performed as a pianist and later a conductor. In 1906 he completed his studies in history...
and Aleksandr Gauk
Aleksandr Gauk
Aleksandr Vassilievich Gauk was a Russian/Soviet conductor and composer.Aleksandr Gauk was born in Odessa in 1893. He recalled his first experience as hearing army bands and his mother singing and accompanying herself at the piano...
. In 1934, Musin became assistant to Fritz Stiedry
Fritz Stiedry
Fritz Stiedry was an Austrian conductor and composer.-Biography:While studying law at the University of Vienna, Stiedry's musical abilities were noticed by Gustav Mahler who appointed him his assistant at the Vienna Court Opera in 1907...
with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Later, he was sent by the Soviet government to lead State Belorussian Orchestra. Because Musin never joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
Communist Party of the Soviet Union
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was the only legal, ruling political party in the Soviet Union and one of the largest communist organizations in the world...
, his conducting career was curtailed by the Soviet government; he then channelled his creative output into pedagogy, creating a school of conducting, still referred to as the "Leningrad conducting school". During the war years (1941–45), he was in Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, where most of Russian intellectual forces were kept safe; he continued conducting and teaching. On the anniversary of the Nazi invasion (June 22, 1942), he conducted the second performance of Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
's Symphony No. 7
Symphony No. 7 (Shostakovich)
Dmitri Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 7 in C major, Op. 60 dedicated to the city of Leningrad was completed on 27 December 1941. In its time, the symphony was extremely popular in both Russia and the West as a symbol of resistance and defiance to Nazi totalitarianism and militarism...
.
In 1932, Musin was invited to teach conducting at Saint Petersburg Conservatory
Saint Petersburg Conservatory
The N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History:...
(then known as the Leningrad Conservatory). He developed a comprehensive theoretical system, truly a science of the conducting gesture, mastering of which allowed the student to communicate with orchestras with the hands only, with minimum of verbal instructions, down to the minutest detail. No one hitherto had tried to formulate a science of conducting gesture in such detail and clarity as Musin did. Apparently, his own early years as a student of conducting had prompted him to study the intricacies of manual technique; the explanation is that when in 1926 Musin tried to enter Malko's conducting class at the Leningrad Conservatory, he was denied entrance for the reason of his weak manual technique. He pleaded with Malko to be accepted on a provisional basis, and over the years in fact became the supreme authority on manual technique, having developed a system, which he expounded in his book The Technique of Conducting. This fundamental work is still available only in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
and Bulgarian; since its publication (1967), it has been a rarity even in Russia. Musin formulated the main principal of his method in these words: "A conductor must make music visible to his musicians with his hands. There are two components to conducting, expressiveness and exactness. These two components are in a dialectical opposition with each other; in fact, they cancel each other out. A conductor must find the way to bring the two together."
His pedagogical career spanned 60 years of teaching; his pedagogical legacy lives on in the hundreds of his students; among them are Rudolf Barshai
Rudolf Barshai
Rudolf Borisovich Barshai was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.Barshai was born in Stanitsa Lobinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and...
, Semyon Bychkov, Tugan Sokhiev
Tugan Sokhiev
Tugan Taymourazovitch Sokhiev is an Ossetian conductor.Sokhiev began piano studies at age 7. He began to conduct at age 17, inspired by Anatoly Briskin, the conductor of the North Ossetia State Philharmonic Orchestra. He subsequently attended the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and was a pupil of...
, Sabrie Bekirova, Oleg Caetani
Oleg Caetani
Oleg Caetani is a conductor of Ukrainian and Italian descent. He is the son of Igor Markevitch and Donna Topazia Caetani, Markevitch's second wife, who is descended from a Roman family that included the early 14th-century Pope Boniface VIII. Caetani has chosen to use his mother's family name to...
, Vassily Sinaisky
Vassily Sinaisky
Vassily Serafimovich Sinaisky is a Russian conductor and pianist. He studied conducting with Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory and began his career as Assistant to Kirill Kondrashin at the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra...
, Konstantin Simeonov, Odyssey Dimitriadi, Vladislav Chernushenko, Victor Fedotov, Leonid Shulman, Arnold Katz, Andrey Tchistyakov, Sian Edwards, Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins
Martyn Brabbins is a British conductor. He studied at Goldsmiths College, London University, and later was a conducting student of Ilya Musin at the Leningrad Conservatory....
, Kim Ji Hoon, Peter Jermihov, Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Temirkanov
Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov is a Russian conductor of Circassian origin.Yuri Temirkanov has been the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic since 1988.-Early life:...
, Vladislav Chachin, Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
, Ennio Nicotra and many others.
Books
- Ilya Musin, The Technique of Conducting (Техника дирижирования), Muzyka Publishing House, MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, 1967 - Ennio Nicotra "Introduction to the orchestral conducting Technique in accordance with the orchestral conducting school of Ilya Musin" Book + DVD, English, Italian, German and Spanish text. Edizioni Curci Milano, Italy 2007
External links
- Ilya Musin Society (Italy)
- Ilya Musin, The Technique of Conducting (in Russian) PDF file
- Círculo Musin (Spain)
- Ilya Musin Kolor (Spain)