Tchaikovskys name as the author of the Cantata was not ushed to the right

under the names of the established composers. Rubinstein conducted the or-
chestra. A further examination took place at the same time on 31 December/
12 January. It commenced with an examination of the theoretical assignments
presented to the students two days earlier and an analysis of the musical com-
positions. The graduates who had completed the entire conservatory course had
to perform a work that they had prepared: the rst movement of a Beethoven
piano concerto (Reykhardt), the Romance and Finale of a viola concerto by
Friedrich Dotzauer (Bessel), a Prelude and Fugue by Mendelssohn (Homilius),
a cello concerto by Davdov (Albrecht), Liszts Rminiscences de Don Juan (Rba-
sov). They were then examined in the history of music, score reading, piano,
sight-reading, and transposition. At the end of the examination a magnicent
banquet was organized by the grand duchess at the Mikhaylovsky Palace in
honor of the new graduates.
By mid-December 1865 Rubinstein had still not received any positive news
from the grand duchess about the new charter, and on 14/26 December he in-
formed his mother: I am quite rmly decided that as of 1 January I shall have
nothing more to do with the Conservatory unless matters have been resolved
to my satisfaction.111 He was gradually accustoming himself to the idea that he
would have to leave the Conservatory in the spring.
The successes achieved by the Conservatory during its rst three years were
striking, and Rubinstein could later claim, not without a certain pride, that the
St. Petersburg Conservatory (and after 1866 the Moscow Conservatory as well)
had produced a whole new division of Russian citizens bearing the title Free
Artist (in the domain of music). What was done more than a hundred years
ago for painters and others, and even earlier, at the instance and on the initiative
of Sumarokov, for Russian actors and actresses, was done in these years for Rus-
sian artist-musicians of both sexes.112
Despite the new charter not having been approved, Rubinstein remained for
another year as director of the Conservatory. He justied his decision, in part,
by the fact that the examinations had not gone quite the way he had wanted. He
was delighted with the results, and told Kaleriya Khristoforovna that six stu-
dents received diplomas and four received certicates.113 This apparent over-
sight was caused by Rubinstein refusing to sign the diplomas of students who
had failed to appear at the examination ceremony. He actually withheld Tchai-
kovskys diploma, because the latter had absented himself from the gradua-
tion concert, fearing public examination.114 Tchaikovskys failure to appear on
29 December, however, was not mentioned in any of the ofcial documents.
Work on the opera The Oprichnik was progressing slowly, and in two months
Rubinstein had managed to complete only the introduction and the rst chorus
of act 1. He had grown disillusioned with the opera and turned to Sollogub for
advice about the quality of Kalashnikovs libretto, asking for suggestions about
the way it could be changed. Sollogub concluded his reply with the solemn pro-
nouncement: I close with the wish never to collaborate with Mr. Kalashnikov.

116 Anton Rubinstein