No one was harmed in the Tuesday afternoon fire, which started in a wing housing the cultural institution's small recital hall and library. Several recently renovated classrooms and offices and 16 grand pianos were damaged, but the recital hall and the vast library collection were unscathed, rector Alexander Sokolov said.
Wednesday's concert in the conservatory's great hall would be held, and Sokolov said he hoped the small hall could be opened Thursday.
Sokolov said the fire most likely was caused by a short circuit, but a commission would determine the exact cause and damage.
Vice-rector Valery Goryunov said none of the damaged property was insured.
Sokolov said the fire should prompt the government to allocate more money toward restoring the conservatory _ including overhauling its electrical system.
``It's not a matter of one classroom. All of our wiring is in this condition,'' Sokolov said. ``Every cloud has a silver lining. Now we have hope that things will move faster.''
Sokolov said he hoped to raise money from alumni, including pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy and conductors Yevgeny Svetlanov and Gennady Rozhdestvensky.
``I think the conservatory's graduates will respond,'' Sokolov said.
The conservatory, Moscow's premier music school, has trained Russian musicians since 1866. Its four concert halls are a center of musical life in the city and frequently feature top performers from around the world.
The building, located less than a half-mile from the Kremlin, formerly was a noble mansion belonging to the Vorontsov family and now is protected as an architectural monument.
Sokolov said rewiring the building would be a complicated and expensive process because of the conservatory's historic value and because restorers must not disrupt its delicate acoustics.
