Lev Knipper

He was greatly influenced by his father's sister, the actress Olga Knipper (wife of the playwright Anton Chekhov), who encouraged his musical interests.

At their behest, Knipper travelled to Germany in 1922–23, where he made the acquaintance of composers Alois Hába, Philipp Jarnach, and Paul Hindemith.

Through the connections of his aunt, Knipper made the acquaintance of Elena Gnesina, who hired him as building administrator at the Gnessin Music School in Moscow.

[3]: 149  Inspired by sculptures of the Buddha by Pavel Tchelitchew, the six-movement suite premiered on 8 March 1925 and was well-received by audiences and critics.

[6] Seemingly in response to criticism of his modernist early works, Knipper resigned his post as technical secretary to the ACM and abruptly shifted his style towards one more in line with the principles of socialist realism.

[2]: 30–36  The majority of Knipper's works from this period are musically conservative, and patriotic and militaristic in tone, most notably his "song-symphonies" (3, 4 and 6).

According to secret intelligence documents released in 2002, Knipper and his wife were to play a key role if the Nazis should capture Moscow.

Under the plan, ballerinas and circus acrobats were to be armed with grenades and pistols in order to assassinate German generals if they attempted to organize concerts and other celebrations in the event of the city's capture.