Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of the last great representatives of Romanticism in Russian classical music. Early influences of Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and other Russian composers gave way to a thoroughly personal idiom notable for its song-like melodicism, expressiveness and rich orchestral colours. The piano is featured prominently in Rachmaninoff's compositional output and he made a point of using his skills as a performer to fully explore the expressive and technical possibilities of the instrument.
Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Soviet and Russian composer and pianist, winner of USSR State Prize (1972), the Lenin Prize (1984), and the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1992), and is a former member of the Inter-regional Deputies Group (1989–1991). He is also a citizen of Lithuania and Spain.
Alexander Grigori Arutiunian, also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan, Harutyunian or Harutiunian, was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist, widely known for his 1950 Trumpet Concerto. A professor at Yerevan State Conservatory, he was recognized with many awards for his work, including the Stalin Prize in 1949 and People's Artist of the USSR in 1970, as well as numerous honors from his homeland of Armenia.
Fikret Mashadi Jamil oghlu Amirov was a prominent Soviet and Azerbaijani composer.
John O'Conor is an Irish pianist and pedagogue, and former director of the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
Nicolas Economou was a Cypriot composer, pianist and conductor born in Nicosia, Cyprus.
Nikos Christodoulou is a Greek conductor and composer, and the music director of the City of Athens Symphony Orchestra and Choir.
Nikos Xanthoulis is a Greek composer and author. He is currently Artistic Consultant with the Greek National Opera, Assistant Researcher at the Academy of Athens (2009–present), Correspondent Member of the Archaeological Institute of America (2010–present), and Professor of Composition (2004–present) and Trumpet (1984-2013) at the Athens Conservatory. He was Artistic Director of the Public Broadcasting Orchestras and Choir (2014-2015), and Principal Trumpet Player with the Greek National Opera (1983-2007).
Nikolai Petrovich Rakov, was a Soviet violinist, composer, conductor, and academic at the Moscow Conservatory where he had studied. He composed mostly instrumental works, for orchestra, chamber music and piano music, especially pedagogic works. In 1946, he received the Stalin Prize for his first violin concerto, which became known internationally.
Arno Harutyunovich Babajanian was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was made a People's Artist of the USSR in 1971.
Aleksandër Peçi is an Albanian composer; who has received high acclaim on national and international level
Theodore Antoniou, was a Greek composer and conductor. His works vary from operas and choral works to chamber music, from film and theatre music to solo instrumental works. In addition to his career as composer and conductor, he was professor of composition at Boston University. His education included studies in violin, voice, and composition at the National Conservatory of Athens, the Hellenic Conservatory, and conducting at both The Hochschule für Musik and the International Music Centre in Darmstadt. He was a member of the Academy of Athens.
Yannis Markopoulos is a Greek composer.
Steven Spooner is an American pianist, and currently Professor of Piano at the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.
Seyed Mehdi Hosseini Bami is a Persian composer of contemporary classical music.
Dmitry Smolski was a Belarusian composer, Honored Artist of Belorussian SSR (1975), laureate of the State Prize of BSSR (1980), National Artist of the Republic of Belarus (1987), laureate of the Order of Francysk Skaryna (2013), professor. Dmitry Smolsky was the father of Victor Smolski, guitarist of the German sympho metal band Almanac.
Vladimir Bodegrajac, known as Van Bod, is a Croatian composer, pianist and pop singer.
Vakhtang (Vato) Kakhidze is a Georgian composer and conductor. He is the son of conductor Jansug Kakhidze. He graduated and postgraduated from the Moscow State Conservatory. He studied composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov and orchestration with Edison Denisov. Kakhidze is the conductor of Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra since 1993.
Vyacheslav Gryaznov is a Russian classical pianist, recording artist, transcriber, composer, and assistant professor of piano. In 2006, he studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Slesarev and post-graduate studies in 2009. Since 2008, he has held the position of teaching assistant in the Piano Department of the Moscow Conservatory. Beginning with the 2008/2009 concert season, V. Gryaznov has belonged to the Moscow Philharmonic Society which represents him in Russia. Since 2012, he has worked as a visiting professor of piano at Kurashiki Sakuyo University of Science and Arts in Japan. In 2014 Vyacheslav signed a contract with Schott Music, the leading publisher for classical and contemporary music.
Irina Dubkova (Russian: Дубкова Ирина Анатольевна) is a Russian composer, music teacher and an associate professor at the Moscow Conservatory.
