Pyotr Stolyarsky

Pyotr Solomonovich (Peisach-Pinkhas Shlemovich) Stolyarsky was a Soviet violin pedagogue, born on November 30, 1871, in the town of Lipovets, Kiev Governorate, Russian Empire (now Vinnytsia Oblast, Ukraine). He was recognized as a People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR in 1939 and was a recipient of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour in 1937. Stolyarsky is most famous for founding the first specialized music school for gifted children in the USSR in Odessa in 1933, which now bears his name.

Born into a large Jewish family as the youngest of twelve children, Stolyarsky's father was a klezmer musician who created a family ensemble. At the age of 14, he began studying with the renowned music teacher Otakar Ševčík and later with Stanisław Barcewicz in Warsaw. To support himself, he joined the orchestra of a provincial theater troupe, which eventually brought him to Odessa. There, he was introduced to composer Mykola Lysenko. In 1890, Stolyarsky graduated from the Odessa School of the Russian Musical Society, where he studied violin with Iosif Karbulka. He also took lessons from Emil Młynarski, a student of Leopold Auer.

From 1898 to 1919, Stolyarsky played in the orchestra of the Odessa Opera Theater. In the 1910s, he established his own 'Private Music Violin Courses'. He began teaching at the Odessa Conservatory in 1920, eventually becoming a professor. His pedagogical career was marked by extraordinary success, and he became known for his ability to identify and nurture prodigious talent. His teaching methods, though sometimes described as eccentric, produced a generation of world-class violinists.

Stolyarsky's studio became a veritable 'factory of virtuosos.' His most celebrated pupils include Nathan Milstein, David Oistrakh, Mikhail Goldstein, Boris Goldstein, Mikhail Vaiman, Elizaveta Gilels (sister of pianist Emil Gilels), Mikhail Fikhtengolts, Eduard Grach, Samuil Furer, Roza Faÿn, and Valery Klimov. The composer Oscar Feltsman also studied with him. The establishment of his specialized music school in 1933 institutionalized his unique approach to music education, creating a model for similar institutions throughout the Soviet Union.

With the outbreak of World War II, Stolyarsky was evacuated to Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg). He continued to teach evacuated children, including David Oistrakh's son, Igor. During the evacuation, he suffered from severe illness and underwent surgery. He rejoiced upon hearing of Odessa's liberation on April 10, 1944, but the subsequent news that the invading forces had burned down his beloved music school dealt a devastating blow to his already fragile health. He passed away shortly after, on April 29, 1944, in Sverdlovsk.

Stolyarsky was initially buried in the Mikhailovskoye Cemetery in Sverdlovsk. In the 1980s, his neglected grave was located, and his headstone was moved to the Shirokorechenskoye Cemetery for preservation, but his remains were not re-interred. The exact location of his burial is now considered lost. French violinist Jacques Thibaud once said, 'Stolyarsky's pedagogy is something that world art should be proud of.' His legacy is also preserved in literature; he is believed to be the prototype for the character Zagursky in Isaac Babel's story 'Awakening' and Naum Tokar in Konstantin Paustovsky's novel 'Time of Great Expectations.' A memorial plaque is installed on the building where he lived in Odessa, and a star in his honor was placed on the city's Alley of Stars in 2016.

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