These are Alexandra (Sasha) and Alexandra (Shura) Zhukow, I met them at the dry-cleaner on Nevsky, close to the Mayakovskaya Metro Station they own and operate. They were also the most formidable and successful cellist mother-daughter team in recent Russian music history. Sasha started playing the cello at age six and developed into an exceptional musician ... so when her daughter Shura turned six she taught her too. Everybody knew what a great success Sasha was: that she was in the Menshnikov Quartet and played first-cello in the "Leningrad Philharmonic" and that she was given the use of the "1748 Count Berezin Domenico Montagnana" cello and that the great Shishkin composed a cello suite for her. What nobody knew is what price Sasha was demanded to pay ... the how/when and with whom remained her horrible secret for a long, long time. Shura, at eighteen, won the prestigious Shishkin Annual Best New Cellist (prize that Sasha won herself at her time) and enrolled in the Conservatory. The work was hard, the hours were long, but Shura was doing fabulously. One evening, about two years and a half ago, Shura came home very happy and excited and told her mom that Gherghidanov named her third-cello in the orchestra for the North-American tour and will record the Glinka CD for Sony Music, she will make serious money. The next evening she was to go and see Gherghidanov at his house to discuss details.
It came as a huge surprise to everybody when the next day Sasha retired from all musical activities, sold "Count Berezin" for 850,000 Euros and bought the dry-cleaner. Shura was devastated but after a night-long and tear-filled discussion with her mom decided to join her in the new business so she never has to tell her own daughter how she too (me too) made her career.
Sasha and Shura now sometimes busk playing cello duos for fun on cheap Chinese cellos from Amazon.
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