Vladimir Bakaleinikov

Who was Vladimir Bakaleinikov?

Vladimir Romanovich Bakaleinikov, also Bakaleynikov and Bakaleinikoff was a Russian-American violist, music educator, conductor and composer.

Bakaleinikov, the son of a noted clarinetist, was from a large musical family who lived in poverty. His elder brother was flautist, composer and conductor Nikolai Bakaleinikov, his younger brothers, both composers, were Mikhail Bakaleinikoff and Constantin Bakaleinikoff.

Bakaleinikov entered the Moscow Conservatory at the age of nine, studying with Jan Hřímalý. After his graduation in 1907, he quickly gained a reputation as a gifted violist and chamber musician playing with the Russian Musical Society in Moscow, the Mecklenburg Quartet of Saint Petersburg, and later with the Stradivari Quartet in Moscow. He was conductor of the Theatre of Musical Drama in Saint Petersburg, and at the Music Studio of the Moscow Art Theatre. Simultaneously, Bakaleinikov was Professor of Viola at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and at the Moscow Conservatory. As Professor of Viola, Bakaleinikov was a pioneer in promoting artistic standards for the instrument. Among his students were, in particular, Vadim Borisovsky who succeeded him as Professor of Viola at the Conservatory.