Tatiana Nikolayeva

Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva (Татьяна Николаева) (May 4, 1924–November 13, 1993) was a Russian pianist, composer and teacher. Nikolayeva studied piano beginning at the age of three. She entered the Moscow Conservatory, studied with Alexander Goldenweiser and Evgeny Golubev, and graduated in 1948. In 1950 Nikolayeva gained prominence by winning the Bach Leipzig Piano Competition, part of the bicentennial marking Bach's death. More importantly, she met Dmitri Shostakovich at the competition leading to a lifelong friendship and inspiring Shostakovich to compose his 24 Preludes & Fugues which are dedicated to Nikolayeva. In 1959 Nikolayeva became a teacher at the Moscow Conservatory, later becoming professor in 1965. She made over 50 recordings during her career, notably keyboard works by Bach, including his Art of Fugue, and by Beethoven, but only became widely known in the West late in life. With the fall of Communism, she found herself in demand internationally making several concert tours to Europe and America. Her third recording of the Shostakovich 24 Preludes & Fugues won the 1991 Gramophone award in the instrumental category. In November 1993 Nikolayeva died shortly after playing the same work in concert in San Francisco. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.