Emil Finkeshteyn

Emil Finkelstein, 86 years old
Musicologist, author of books and articles
Still learning social media, family helping with the page

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

This is the ORIGINAL video of my grandparents that went viral - and honestly, we were completely shocked by the response! What a wonderful surprise, to go viral in your 80s!

A bit of context: these are my grandparents, Emil Finkelshtein and Eleonora Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their lifelong friend and colleague Natalia Entelis (on the right). All three are well-known musicologists in St. Petersburg, Russia. They dedicated their lives to classical music - wrote books, wrote articles, gave lectures to children and adults, and fought about it together for nearly 50 years. This was filmed on my grandmother’s 80th birthday. By 2 a.m., every other guest had gone home, but they were still going at it 😁

Follow along for the other two parts, plus videos from the documentary I made about them, and clips on YouTube.

For now, we’re helping him navigate social media, since he doesn’t speak English and is learning Instagram as we speak! We’re open to any ideas and advice - YouTube is new territory for me too, even though I’m not 80 😄

We’re incredibly grateful to have such an outlet for our family!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

This is the official account we made for Emil - my grandfather, the musicologist in this video! We never expected this kind of reach - but here we are, the full account will have more (arguments, stories, his philosophy on music), plus Parts 1 and 3 of that same night. This is just the middle 😁

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

@VladimirValuiki Да, рядом с Рощино!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

On Eugene Onegin

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Vitaly, indeed these two yelled at each other for nearly 50 years - but I have to say, always about music! Never money or dishes 😁

The people arguing are my grandparents, Emil Finkelshtein and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), going at it with their lifelong friend and colleague Natalia Entelis (on the right). Ella passed away in 2023.

I started a page for Emil (in Russian in Instagram, with English subs here on X) under @muzikoded, which I manage while he learns the ropes of social media (and English 😄). We honestly never thought anyone outside the family would care so much… and then it randomly went viral! I’ve got tons more footage on my phone, and he absolutely loves having an outlet to talk about music

Subscribe if you’d like, we’re wide open to ideas and questions!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

The people arguing are my grandparents, Emil Finkelshtein and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left) going at it with their lifelong friend and colleague Natalia Entelis (on the right), just like they did for nearly 50 years 😁 actually, Ella passed away in 2023…

We started an Instagram for Emil (in Russian in Instagram, with English subs here) under @muzikoded, which I manage while he learns the ropes of social media 😄 I’ve got tons of footage on my phone, plus a documentary I made about him - Emil talking music and philosophy, and more of these legendary arguments. We honestly never thought anyone outside the family would care… and then it randomly went viral 😂
Subscribe if you’d like, and we’re wide open to ideas and questions!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

The people arguing are my grandparents, Emil Finkelshtein (86, musicologist) and his wife Ella Fradkina - going at it with their lifelong friend and colleague Natalia Entelis, just like they did for nearly 50 years. Ella passed away in 2023.

We started an Instagram for Emil (in Russian in Instagram, with English subs here) under @muzikoded, which I manage for now while he learns how social media works 😄 I’ve got tons of footage on my phone and from a a documentary I made about him - Emil talking music and philosophy, and more of these already arguments. We honestly never thought anyone outside the family would care… and then it randomly went viral 😂

Subscribe if you’d like, and we’re wide open to ideas and questions!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

The people arguing are my grandparents, Emil Finkelshtein (86, musicologist) and his wife Ella Fradkina - going at it with their lifelong friend and colleague Natalia Entelis, just like they did for nearly 50 years. Ella passed away in 2023.

We started an Instagram for Emil (in Russian in Instagram, with English subs here) under @muzikoded, which I manage for now while he learns how social media works 😄 I’ve got tons of footage on my phone and from a a documentary I made about him - Emil talking music and philosophy, and more of these already arguments. We honestly never thought anyone outside the family would care… and then it randomly went viral 😂

Subscribe if you’d like, and we’re wide open to ideas and questions!

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hey Liza - im Liza as well :)

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Ella passed away in 2023.

We created an account for Emil - in Russian on Instagram, with English subs here under the handle @muzikoded, managed by me while he learns social media :) There are tons of videos I have - both him talking about music and philosophy, and continuations of that one - we just never thought there’d be an audience, and so pleased to see there is 🥹 Feel free to subscribe, and we’re super open to ideas and questions

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

@MissPavIichenko Thank you 🙏🏻

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

@tudoralexis1 Thank you Tudor! We created an account for grandpa - feel free to subscribe :) managed by granddaughter for now, while he learns social media 😁

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Giorgio,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤��

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Sasha,
Thank you so much for translating ❤️

You might already know, but writing just in case - the people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Grandma passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Absolutely crazy ❤️

As you know, we created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), but inspired by all of you guys now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Obadiah,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Edmund,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Viktor,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! And it’s part of a meme! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Denis,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hi Copernicus,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media, so I’m doing it on his behalf for now :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Dear Leigh,

Can you please pin this comment, so people would know who are the crazy academics on that video? 😁

These are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone - and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media. :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Hey hey,

The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone — and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media. :)

[Emil Finkeshteyn @muzikoded]

Dear Roman,

Can you please pin that comment so people would know who they are? 🙏🏻
The people in the video are my grandparents: Emil Finkelshtein, an 86-year-old musicologist, and his wife Ella Fradkina (on the left), arguing with their colleague and lifelong friend Natalia Entelis (on the right). Sadly, Ella passed away in 2023.

The video was casually posted by my mom, @polinafradkina, on Instagram and was filmed in 2019.

It was an absolute shock for all of us that this little classic family argument got millions of views on Instagram. And to our great surprise, we discovered yesterday that it had made its way out of the Russian-speaking internet - with an English-translated version on YouTube, which you linked. And now here too! Wow. Absolutely crazy ❤️

We created an Instagram page for Emil, @muzikoded (currently only in Russian), and now a page here as well, with English subtitles! I have hours of footage of him and my grandmother on my phone — and that particular argument actually lasts 20 minutes 😂 So we’ll be uploading the rest soon for those interested.

Please follow the page! We’re very open to ideas, thoughts and questions. X is a whole new territory for us - especially for Grandpa, who’s still learning how to use social media. :)