On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the birth of the outstanding musician and teacher Vera Gornostayeva (1929-2015), Melodiya is releasing a recording of the live concert of her students. This is the first recording made by Melodiya at Moscow’s venue Zaryadye.

Lukas Geniušas, Vadim Kholodenko and Andrei Gugnin have been friends since they studied in the class of Vera Gornostayeva. The Professor jokingly called her favourites “three musketeers” or “three bogatyrs”. The disc contains works of Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Robert Schumann. All of these works the musicians learnt in Vera Gornostayeva’s class.

Vera Vasilievna Gornostayeva, a student of the great Heinrich Neuhaus, taught for more than fifty years at her alma mater, the Moscow Conservatory. Dozens of her students became winners of international competitions and concert pianists.

“I am happy that she showed me the way to absolute artistic freedom (I mean knowledge of the tradition and using it as a starting point).” – Lukas Geniušas

“The responsibilities of every musician: classes, understanding of music and true love for what you do – this is what Vera Vasilievna charged you with instantly.” – Vadim Kholodenko

“She was an incredibly honest person and an honest musician. She was not afraid to speak out what she was thinking. She did not try to look for easy ways. She always spoke sincerely, honestly and in your face, even things that you might not like. And being honest to life and your cause was important.” – Andrei Gugnin