 Her father believed that Russia was entering a time of great change and that given the relatively high number of pianists in Russia it would be easier for his daughter to find work as a harpist than as a pianist.In 1911 she won the first Gold Medal given to a harpist by the Moscow Conservatory.In 1919 she became the Professor of Harp at the Conservatory as well as the Principal Harpist at the Bolshoi Orchestra.