I finish my Russian "Troika" with Yuri Simonov, the formidable ex-chief of the Bolshoi theatre in Moscow. I took part to his master class twice and saw him rehearse orchestra many times. He has easily the best control over his baton I have seen anywhere in the world! I also admire his skills of organization and his dutifulness in preparing all the orchestra materials beforehand.

I have written earlier on this blog about his masterclass in Budapest, which was the most perfect masterclass organization-wise I have ever taken part in. As a pedagogue he is ruthless in the charming Russian manner, and I think everyone would benefit of at least a couple of lessons with him!