A few days ago I received an invitation to attend a gathering of 'emerging composers' at the Conservatoire with the intention of putting together a programme for a concert to take place in the Small Hall in January. Anyone with compositions, chamber music, vocal, ensemble or piano to their name could submit and perform them, following which there would be a secret ballot and the works receiving the most votes would be performed in a concert. The idea came from Mme Ranushevich, a pianist and composer who graduated last year from Solovyov's class. Ranushevich is an educated person of indeterminate age somewhere between thirty and sixty, and it is not impossible that she has some qualities as a composer. As many as fifty people had been invited, but only seven turned up. Four offerings were performed: some songs by Ranushevich, of which one ('Two Little Clouds') was good, another tolerable and the rest feeble. Abutkov, who graduated alongside Ranushevich in the spring, sang and played some interminable and utterly unmemorable pieces, compared to which a song by Saminsky actually appeared beautiful.