Today Mr. Feltsman, who is 35 years old, played in Tchaikovsky Hall, one of Moscow's principal auditoriums, and nothing marred his triumph.

"In prison, without freedom, humor is much more interesting; it is nobler somehow," he said on the eve of his most recent one-man show in Tchaikovsky Hall, Moscow's biggest concert hall.

Itzik Feffer meeting and concert in Tchaikovsky Hall (June 1949)

The second show was an exclusive orchestral concert in Tchaikovsky Hall, where there are only 1,500 seats.

Mr. Cliburn drew bravos and even screams at Tchaikovsky Hall for his performance of the Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1.

E.S.T.'s last performance took place in Moscow, Russia, at the Tchaikovsky Hall, on May 30, 2008.

This line of development was uncommon in Moscow (a tower on top of Tchaikovsky Hall was never completed), but similar grand edifices were built in Baku and Kiev.

What happened at Tchaikovsky Hall was even more remarkable for the fact that Mr. Mehta had conducted the Mahler work only once before - two weeks ago in New York.

The New York Philharmonic, on tour in the Soviet Union, performed in shirtsleeves at Tchaikovsky Hall.