1. The Ural Conservatoire – the oldest musical establishment in the Urals and
Siberia – is a creative and scientific center of the vast area. It participates in a
large-scaled concert activity and professional training of musicians (performers,
teachers, composers, researches and specialists in educational methods) – who
work in different fields of musical culture.
The Ural Conservatoire was founded in 1934 and became the first musical
institution to the east of Volga district. It was the high status of Yekaterinburg
(Sverdlovsk since 1924) as the Ural capital and the existence of musical college
(set up in 1916) on the Russian Imperial musical society that brought to choose
the city the place of the Conservatoire. One of the most beautiful buildings – the
stone architectural monument of 1730s and reconstructed in classical style per
M.P. Malakhov’s project in 1830s was allocated to it. In 1967 the Conservatoire
received an annex and later an inner court and then appeared the Bolshoi
Concert Hall (Big) that was the second to the Maly Concert Hall (Small) named
after S. Prokofiev who had performed there in 1935.
In 1939 the Conservatoire was named after M. Mussorgsky to the 100th
anniversary of the great Russian composer. Since 1945 the Sverdlovsk
Conservatoire owing to its significance in the region was conferred on the status
of the Ural one.
At the origins of the Conservatoire there have always been outstanding
musicians. European roots of the Ural institution went back to the pre-
revolutionary Russia and its staff constituted representatives of St. Petersburg,
Moscow, Kiev, Odessa, Tbilisi and Moscow musical-dramatical and Synod
colleges as well as the Court Singing Capella. Later, the graduates of the capital
institutions arrived per the obligatory for those years’ assignment of specialists.
The Moscow Conservatoire had a special task to be patron of the young
institution and provide its teachers’ staff. The galaxy of those brilliant names
appeared to be striking for the distant region! All those musicians became the
founders of the performing and creative schools having done honor to the
Conservatoire. Among the founders there were composer M. Frolov (the first
rector) and V. Trambitsky (founder of musical-theoretical school).
In the year of opening it was announced the admission to the piano, orchestra
(string and wind instruments) and vocal departments. In 1935 there were added
the departments of composition and musical education, in 1936 – history-
theoretic specialty (in 1935 there was established the chair of theory, history of
music and composition). In 1939 based on opera class there was formed the
chair of opera training. In 1943 – there appeared the chair of choir conducting,
just in the year of organizing the choir Capella at the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic
society and the Ural Folk Choir. The rest of chairs were formed after the war, the
latest one being the chair of Musical Sound directing (1993).

2. From the very beginning the Ural Conservatoire was under the patronage of the
Moscow Conservatoire and its rector G. Neuhaus, who taught during two war
years and attracted his disciples, such as B. Marantz, S. Benditsky, to teach in
the Urals.
Among the Conservatoire graduates are the following musicians – singers B.
Shtokolov, Y. Gulyaev, V. Bayeva, I. Semenov, D. Dashiev, N. Golyshev, S.
Zaliznyak, V. Odnovenko, E. Voznesenskaya; composers L. Lyadova, E. Rodygyn,
N. Puzei, V. Bibergan, N. Morozov, A. Pantykin; conductors P. Gorbunov, V.
Yutkin, E. Kolobov, E. Brazhnik, V. Gorelik, D. Volosnikov; choir-masters G.
Rogozhnikova, N. Malguinova, N. Groshikova, N. Popovich, V. Zavadsky; pianists
S. Lidskaya, K. Korchinskaya, G. Rezhnikov, N. Atlas; string instrumentalists I.
Kuznetsova, G. Terya, V. Usminsky, D. Petukhov, V. Klishin, S. Peshkov; folk
instrumentalists – V. Romanko, S. Amirov, T. Volskaya, M. Ulyashkin; wind
instrumentalists – V. Volkov, V. Fedenko, V. Ivukin, V. Cherkashin, I. Paraschuk;
musicologists – E. Maiburova, V. Kostarev, Z. Vizel, M. Muginstein, L.
Shaimukhamedova, N. Tarasevich; folklorist T. Kaluzhnikova and many others.
V. Kazenin, also Conservatoire graduate, headed the Composers’ Union of Russia
in 1990s. In 2012 V. Kazenin and V. Bibergan became Honorary professors at
the Conservatoire.
Musical Science
At the Conservatoire serious research work is carried out, and the striking
illustration of it is publishing of fundamental monographies, collected articles,
defense of theses. The conservatoire is a constitutor of United Dissertation
Council and Specialized Scientific Journal «Musical Science» (under review of the
High Attestation Committee of the Russian federation).
New and unaccustomed to the Conservatoire has become orientation to the
modern technologies in the multimedia that resulted in the formation first of
sound acoustic studio, then of sound producing department. Important creative
actions are held here, such as regular international festivals – competitions of
electroacoustic music “>SYNC”. The sound-producing studio and the chair assist
the name of the Conservatoire is becoming well-known in this sphere on the level
with the highest standards.
Concerts and music performances
The Conservatoire teachers and students accomplish large-scale concert work
not only in the Conservatoire but in the halls of Philharmonic, musical colleges,
school, children’s homes, hospitals, museums, throughout Ural Federal District.
The Conservatoire systematically takes part in all cultural events held by the
municipal administration and cultural center of Yekaterinburg metropolitan.

3. Opera studio annually stages several productions, most of them are first-staged.
The following productions are running for more than three years: Puccini’s opera
«Jianni Schicci», H. Purcell’s «Dido and Eneas», K. Orff’s «Die Kluge», they are
awarded with B. Pokrovsky Prize (single example for the conservatoires).
The activity of the Conservatoire is highly appreciated by the regional
government: 70 teachers and graduates became laureates of the Governor Prize
in the field of literature and arts (since 1996), that is about the quarter of all
awarded persons.
Students, post-graduates and teachers successfully participate in different
contests and yearly not less than one hundred of them become laureates…