 In 1949 he gave his first concert in the West – in Helsinki.In 1951, he appeared at the "Maggio Musicale" Festival in Florence, in 1952 he was in East Germany for the Beethoven celebrations, France in 1953, Britain in 1954, and eventually, in 1955, he was allowed to tour the United States.By 1959, he was beginning to establish a second career as a conductor, and in 1960 he was awarded the coveted Lenin Prize.