Shostakovich D. Three Fantastic Dances

Dmitri Shostakovich (1906–1975) graduated from the Leningrad Conservatoire as a pianist in 1923 (Leonid Nikolayev’s class) and as a composer in 1925 (Maximilian Steinberg’s class).

Since 1937 Shostakovich started his pedagogical activity (from 1937 was appointed a professor) at the Leningrad Conservatoire, and in 1943–1948 served as a professor of the Moscow Conservatoire.

Among his disciples there are German Galynin, Orest Yevlakhov, Kara Karayev, Yuri Levitin, Georgy Sviridov, Boris Tishchenko, Galina Ustvolskaya, Karen Hachaturyan and Boris Tchaikovsky. In 1947–1948 Shostakovich was the head of the Leningrad Department of the Russian Composers’ Union. He created actually in all possible music genres.