Russian composer Nikolay Myaskovsky (1882-1950) attended one of the most prestigious Russian military schools, and the military and its codes were part of his life from the earliest days. He is sometimes referred to as 'The father of the Soviet symphony'. Complosition professor at the Moscow Concervatory. While his introverted nature led him rarely to stray from the party line, his musical thoughts often did so, and he was not spared during Stalin's infamous 1948 intervention into the Soviet musical world that terrorised many of the most famous Soviet composers.