Alexander Milushkin
Alexander Milushkin was a Russian double bassist and teacher of the double bass. He studied at the Music and Drama School of the Moscow Philharmonic Society from 1909 to 1913, then completed his studies there in 1921 at the State Institute of Musical Drama, studying with Dmitry Shmuklovsky.
From 1921 until his death, Milushkin played in the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. He taught double bass at the Music College attached to the Moscow Conservatory from 1923 to 1938 and at the conservatory from 1929. He became an associate professor in 1933 and acting professor in 1938. From 1932 to 1937, he also headed the conservatory’s instrument workshop.
His students included D. F. Agafonov, A. I. Astakhov, M. M. Daeva, S. M. Efremov, V. K. Zinovich, V. A. Pankov, V. V. Khomenko, and M. I. Shevando; the solfège teacher Dmitry Blum also studied with him. Milushkin created the first double-bass method in the Soviet Union, made arrangements for the instrument, and compiled repertoire collections. These works played a significant role in the development of the Soviet double-bass school.
Milushkin co-authored A Complete Self-Study Method for Double Bass, published in three parts from 1928 to 1930, and wrote a two-part Double Bass Method, published in 1933 and 1939.