1924
The Council of the Petrograd Conservatory refuses to leave Shostakovich on an academic course (in graduate school) because of “youth and immaturity.”
Intention to move to Moscow.
The issue of Shostakovich's transfer from the Leningrad Conservatory is being discussed at a meeting of the board of the Moscow State Conservatory.
Intention to move to Moscow.
The issue of Shostakovich's transfer from the Leningrad Conservatory is being discussed at a meeting of the board of the Moscow State Conservatory.
Shostakovich takes the composition exam at the Moscow Conservatory in the presence of N. Y. Myaskovsky, S. N. Vasilenko, G. E. Konyusov, N. Y. Bryusova. He performs Three pieces for cello and piano and Trio No. 1 (with violinist V. A. Vlasov and cellist A. A. Klivansky). The next day, he talks about this exam in a letter to his mother.
In Donbas in 1924
In the 1920s and 1930s, the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory was transformed into the Koloss Cinema. From 1924 to 1933, the hall was leased to Mezhrabpromfilm, an international organization of proletarian solidarity, and during the day, it served as the largest cinema in Moscow, earning the name "Koloss." In November 1930, it became a sound cinema.
On June 1, 1931, the first Soviet sound feature film, "A Ticket to Life," premiered at this cinema.
Composition of Three Pieces for Cello and Piano. Op 9.
Beginning of work on Symphony No. 1. Op. 10.
Beginning of work on Symphony No. 1. Op. 10.
“
April 1924, Moscow
My dear Mamma! Should I or should I not transfer to the Moscow Conservatoire? <...>
I should not have tried to act, had I not discussed all this with you before I left. You told me that, first of all, I should sort out my material position and only then should I start with the Conservatoire. That’s what I have done... I could turn my back on it all and enrol once more at the Leningrad Conservatoire, but it would be difficult for me.<...> and besides I have been promised a Lunacharsky grant worth 18 roubles a month. Love and kisses.
My dear Mamma! Should I or should I not transfer to the Moscow Conservatoire? <...>
I should not have tried to act, had I not discussed all this with you before I left. You told me that, first of all, I should sort out my material position and only then should I start with the Conservatoire. That’s what I have done... I could turn my back on it all and enrol once more at the Leningrad Conservatoire, but it would be difficult for me.<...> and besides I have been promised a Lunacharsky grant worth 18 roubles a month. Love and kisses.
“
April 8, 1924, Moscow
My dear Mamma!
Yesterday at the Conservatoire they set up something like an exam for me. The professors there were Myaskovsky, Vasilenko, G. Konius, the Vice-rector and so on. I played my three cello pieces for them and the Trio. <...> The result was completely unexpected. I would have never been able to predict it. The Trio counted for my exam in sonata form and they immediately took me on to study free composition.This was wonderful. <...> In Leningrad they would never have counted my Trio for the exam in sonata form. Wretched formalists. Given that I had composed a Trio without attending the class in sonata form, how could they possibly let me pass the exam?! Now the situation is like this. If by the spring I manage to compose a symphony, I shall be considered a graduate of the Moscow Conservatoire in the Theory of Composition. I doubt whether I shall finish the symphony by the spring but I shall do so by the autumn, because some of it is already going round in my head. <...>
I am now working very hard... Everything is wonderful... By the way I shall have to be examined in Political Programmes and Social Policy. <...> I’ll pass somehow. Well, Mamma dear, don’t worry about me, just relax. <...>
P.S. <...> I already have one foot in the door of the Moscow Conservatoire, the other is still in mid-air but will soon follow. My feet are no longer going to be in the Leningrad one.
My dear Mamma!
Yesterday at the Conservatoire they set up something like an exam for me. The professors there were Myaskovsky, Vasilenko, G. Konius, the Vice-rector and so on. I played my three cello pieces for them and the Trio. <...> The result was completely unexpected. I would have never been able to predict it. The Trio counted for my exam in sonata form and they immediately took me on to study free composition.This was wonderful. <...> In Leningrad they would never have counted my Trio for the exam in sonata form. Wretched formalists. Given that I had composed a Trio without attending the class in sonata form, how could they possibly let me pass the exam?! Now the situation is like this. If by the spring I manage to compose a symphony, I shall be considered a graduate of the Moscow Conservatoire in the Theory of Composition. I doubt whether I shall finish the symphony by the spring but I shall do so by the autumn, because some of it is already going round in my head. <...>
I am now working very hard... Everything is wonderful... By the way I shall have to be examined in Political Programmes and Social Policy. <...> I’ll pass somehow. Well, Mamma dear, don’t worry about me, just relax. <...>
P.S. <...> I already have one foot in the door of the Moscow Conservatoire, the other is still in mid-air but will soon follow. My feet are no longer going to be in the Leningrad one.
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