Anatoliy Brandukov

Anatoliy Andreyevich Brandukov was born in Moscow on January 6, 1859. His father died soon after his birth, so he was raised by his mother and aunt. His first exposure to classical music was the Bolshoi Theater, in which his sister danced. But the most decisive influence on him was hearing Hector Berlioz conduct Beethoven's Fifth Symphony when the French composer visited St Petersburg and Moscow in 1867-68. He learned the cello, and at age eight, began to attend Moscow Conservatory. He helped the 19-year old Sergei Rachmaninoff give his first independent concert, by playing some new works in his debut in 1892. In 1906, he was appointed professor and director of the Moscow Philharmonic School of Music and Drama, and became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory in 1921, In Moscow he married the wealthy Nadezhda Mazurina and had a son, Alexander (Sasha). During World War I, which started in 1914, he often spoke at charity events for wounded soldiers. As a professor, he enjoyed interacting with his students on a very personal level. A student, known only as A. V. Brouna, commented that, "Brandukov was not a teacher in the conventional sense. This was a close friend, generously spreading his spiritual wealth, whose lessons became a revelation..." He died in Moscow on February 16, 1930, aged 71. ==Contemporaries==