Татьяна Гайдамович

Tatiana Gaidamovich (6 May 1918, Moscow, USSR — 12 November 2005, Moscow, Russia) was a Soviet-Russian cellist, musicologist, and pedagogue, third wife of composer and Soviet spy Lev Knipper (1898—1974). She was a professor at Moscow Conservatory from 1947 until her retirement in 2004. Some of Tatyana's prestigious accolades included the Order of the Badge of Honour (1966) and Honored Art Practitioner of the RSFSR (1979) in the Soviet era, the Order of Friendship (1998), and the Order of Honour (2004). She grew up in Moscow and studied at Gnessin's Music School in the cello class of Leopold Rostropovich (1892—1942), father of Mstislav Rostropovich. Tatiana continued her education at Gnesin Academy with Armen Georgian, graduating in 1941. Gaidamovich further studied at Moscow Conservatory, earning her diploma in 1947 after learning cello with Galina Kozolupova, chamber ensemble with Alexander Goedicke, and quartet performance with Mikhail Terian. Throughout her student years, Tatyana performed with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. Gaidamovich began teaching at Conservatory in 1947, earning her Ph.D. degree in 1994 and subsequently promoted to Dean of Orchestral Faculty. Some of her notable pupils over the years included Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Bashmet, Tatiana Grindenko, Moscow Piano Trio members Alexander Bonduriansky, Vladimir Ivanov (2) and Mikhail Utkin, Arkady Sevidov, Victoria Postnikova, Eduard Tadevossyan, Rafael Bagdasarian, Bogodar Kotorovich, and Felix Korobov, to name just a few.