Memories of studying with the legendary Professor Ilya Musin in St Petersburg

In 1997 I had the privilege to study with Ilya Musin at the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in St Petersburg. Musin, by then already 94, was the legendary teacher of a whole generation Russian conductors such as Yuri Temirkanov, Valery Gergiev, Semyon Bychkov and Tugan Sokhiev. An unforgettable experience! That entire year, his lessons, his philosophy, the way he trained us the ‘Russian conducting school’ will stay with me during my whole life. ‘Catch the sound!’ was one of his favorite expressions. Ilya Musin and Dmitri Shostakovich were close friends and because of him and his vivid stories I have developed a deep love for the music of Shostakovich, Rachmaninov, Prokofiev, Stravinsky and Tchaikovsky.