Konstantin Mostras
Konstantin Mostras (16 April 1886 – 6 September 1965) was a Soviet violinist and music teacher. He was named an Honored Art Worker of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1937.
Mostras studied at the Musical and Drama School of the Russian Musical Society and taught there from 1914 to 1922. Alongside his teaching, he performed as a chamber musician in quartets and other ensembles. In 1922 he was invited to teach at the Moscow Conservatory, where he soon became head of the violin department. From 1922 to 1932, he was an active member of Persimfans.
His greatest significance was as a teacher who played an important part in the development of the Soviet violin school. He developed his own teaching method and taught violinists including Andrei Abramenkov, Ivan Galamian, Mikhail Teryan, Marina Kozolupova, Marine Yashvili, and Anahit Tsitsikyan.
Mostras wrote pedagogical works, violin arrangements, editions of violin compositions, and studies. His editorial work included J. S. Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin and Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto, the latter prepared jointly with David Oistrakh. His publications included Intonation on the Violin, Rhythmic Discipline for the Violinist, The Violinist's Home-Practice System, and Dynamics in Violin Performance.
He received two Orders of the Red Banner of Labour, in 1937 and 1946. Mostras died in Moscow in 1965 and was buried at Vvedenskoye Cemetery.