In 1890-1895 Al. Spendiaryan studied at Imperial Moscow University. First, at the faculty of Natural Sciences, then at the faculty of Law. But he never worked as a lawyer in his life. During his student years he was the concertmaster of student orchestra, conductor of which was N. Klenovski. Hearing Spendiaryan's works Klenovski advised him to study theory of composition, becoming Spendiaryan's first teacher. During this period Spendiaryan brothers communicated with Armenian intellectuals in Moscow being involved in Armenian culture. In 1894 during one of the gatherings Spendiaryan met with Alexander Tsaturyan. Spendiaryan heard his ''Oh Rose'' poem and composed the homonymous romance. It was his first composition based on Armenian poetry lyrics.