conduct herself in every situation. This could be felt in her playing — no wonder a critic once wrote an article, giving her the title, «Queen of the Harp». She survived all of Russia’s political turmoil without losing this inherent dignity that she possessed.
She was born into a family of musicians. Her father was a renowned violinist and teacher; her mother an opera singer; her grandmother a brilliant pianist; and her great-aunt, Zograf-Plaksina, founded one of Moscow’s most prominent musical colleges. Music was in Vera Georgievna’s genes. Her artistic, musical and pedagogical talents were astounding, but what also helped her achieve such great fame and popularity in Russia and abroad was her personal strength, charisma, sharp wit and her extraordinary abilities. Vera Georgievna was one of the most acclaimed musicians in Russia. She was honored with the title of «The People’s Artist» the highest honor a Russian artist could receive. Everyone who got the chance to know her — from the coat-check attendant to the highest government official — had great respect for her and treated her with particular warmth.
She was never snobbish or overly proud and was always willing to listen to the opinion of others. My uncle, Adolf Bruk, former music director of the Bolshoi Theater Chamber Orchestra, remembers that when Vera Georgievna performed the harp part in P. Hindemith’s Concerto for Woodwinds, Harp and Orchestra, she never acted like a diva and accepted any suggestions graciously. Vera Georgievna often said to me, «Your uncle is a great musician», and knowing that he was an expert on the music of Bach and Mozart, she asked him to help her prepare her part in the Mozart concerto for flute and harp. During these sessions she behaved just like a humble student, without so much as hinting at the fact that she was the star.
For her students, Vera Georgievna was an unquestionable authority, but I remember that she often consulted N. Shameyeva, I. Pashinskaya, A. Levina (who are all now co-principals in the Bolshoi Theater and were at various times assistants in her class), and some of her other students whom she considered to have matured enough.
Vera Georgievna played an astounding number of concerts. She played not only in concert halls, but also in schools, factories, even the North Pole! Her recordings were constantly being played on the radio. She often performed with her first husband, V. V. Borisovski (one of the founders of the Moscow Viola School), as well as her second husband, A. I. Baturin, who was a famous opera singer. She was known by everyone who had even the least bit to do with classical music. We were always very proud to be her students.
The harp was the center of Vera Georgievna’s universe. She chose not to have children because she knew it impossible to combine them with such an all-consuming career. We, her students, were her children. She knew all the details of each of our lives-our family histories, our interests, our friends. We were always in her home, her apartment that so resembled a museum. She had antique furniture, antique Russian china, paintings and souvenirs from foreign countries. She also had a grand piano and two beautiful Lyon& Healy harps (which in Russia was a great rarity.) In her dining room she had an enormous table at which all her students, the students of her husband and a great number of guests (usually musicians and performers) could sit comfortably during one of her lavish and delectable dinners. (Her housekeeper was also a phenomenal cook!)
Her favorite students and those who were getting ready for a competition lived with her in one of her dachas in the Crimea or near Moscow. She often gave intensive lessons for free during her time off. But generally, her lessons were conducted in the Moscow Conservatory, in a large classroom, which contained a grand piano, two cases with Style 23 Concert Grand Gold Lyon& Healy harps, and the chair in which she sat. She often sat at one of the harps, as opposed to the chair, and played scales and other exercises in unison with us. That was how every lesson began. She sometimes played practically our entire repertoire from memory. It seems to me that she memorized everything she ever played. Her repertoire was enormous. It was fascinating to play with her, to watch her hands and listen to her sound, for which she was so famous. Her sound was strong and beautiful, and it sang. It was interesting to listen to her interpretation, to try to play in unison with her. She never insisted on her interpretation of a piece when it differed with ours. Vera Georgievna also liked for us to come to each other’s lessons. Thus, instead of a regular 50-minute class, we were able to spend several extremely interesting and productive hours with her each week.
We played a lot of interesting and diverse music; Russian as well as Western classics, modern pieces by contemporary Soviet composers who took their inspiration from Vera Georgievna and wrote music for the harp, as well as pieces by contemporary Western composers whose music was often unavailable in the USSR. From every trip that she took abroad, Vera Georgievna would bring back sheet music. She made a great effort to educate us about the «international harp world» to which we had no access because of the «Iron Curtain». She brought back photographs, slides and records, and would often talk about her friends abroad as well as the young harpists who were our foreign peers. It was in her house that I first heard the recordings of M. Grandjany, N. Zabaleta, P. Jamet, L. Laskine, S. McDonald, and other exceptional Western harpists. Her closest friends were P. Berghout and her former beloved teacher, M. Korchinskaya.
Phia Berghout would invite Vera Georgievna to attend the «Week of Harp» in Queekhoven, Holland, every year, and she would be
