JAVS Summer 2025

When it comes to Leningrad, the other—and to be more accurate, the first—major Soviet/Russian intellectual and cultural center, most sources describe in detail the nineteenth-century Peterburgian portion of the narrative, with Professor Weickmann and his only student Bassel, but fail to delve any further into history. St. Petersburg’s Conservatory was home for the renowned violin teacher Leopold Auer for many decades, until he left Russia following the 1917 Revolution. Most sources on Auer clearly mention that he was in favor of viola training for violinists. 20 This explains the early viola developments that took place in St. Petersburg, especially considering Auer’s involvement and power within the entire string and chamber music programs. 21 The people who succeeded Weickmann and Bassel were all students or musical inheritors of Auer; therefore, it is safe to claim that the Leningrad viola school is Auerovskaya (of Auer). 22

Figure 4. Alexander Ryvkin (1893–1951).

While the first dedicated (non-secondary) viola studio at the Leningrad Conservatory was established in 1928 under Professor Aron Sosin (1892–1970), Ryvkin’s influence on viola performance and pedagogy in Leningrad—and across the USSR—remains noteworthy. Among the most prominent violists to emerge from the Conservatory’s lineage is Yuri Kramarov (1929–1982), a student of Isaac Levitin. 27 Kramarov succeeded his teacher as professor of viola in 1954, just a year after graduating. In 1956, he was invited by Yevgeny Mravinsky to serve as principal violist of the Leningrad Philharmonic. He went on to enjoy a distinguished career as a performer and conductor, and his pedagogical impact was profound. Dozens of graduates from Kramarov’s studio secured prestigious positions throughout the USSR, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their peers from the Moscow school. Kramarov’s influence extended beyond the viola community to the broader Soviet musical world. In contrast to most non-autobiographical sources, Misha Galaganov’s dissertation provides rare insight into the personal toll exacted by the Soviet regime on Kramarov, revealing the emotional and physical strain he endured—an experience not uncommon among musicians of the era. 28

Figure 3. Yuri Bashmet (b.1953).

The first major figure in Leningrad’s viola tradition is Alexander Ryvkin (1893–1951), who graduated from Leopold Auer’s studio as a violist shortly before the Russian Revolution. 23 In 1919, he was appointed principal violist of the Leningrad Philharmonic and co-founded the Glazunov Quartet. 24 In 1931, Ryvkin joined the faculty of the Leningrad Conservatory, and a decade later, published one of the earliest exercise books for the viola in the USSR. 25 A prolific performer and teacher, he was the dedicatee of several Soviet-era works and created numerous viola transcriptions. Despite these contributions, Ryvkin’s legacy has often been overshadowed by that of Vadim Borisovsky. 26

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Journal of the American Viola Society / Vol. 41, Summer 2025 Online Issue