Nikolai Arnoldovich Petrov (russian: Никола́й Арно́льдович Петро́в, 14 April 19433 August 2011) was a Russian pianist. Petrov was born in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, the son of the cellist Arnold Ferkelman and the grandson of the operatic bass

Vasily Rodionovich Petrov Vasily Rodionovich Petrov (russian: Василий Родионович Петров; , Kharkov Governorate, Russian Empire - 4 May 1937, Moscow, USSR) was an outstanding Russian opera singer ( bass). Feodor Chaliapin once commented to him, " ...

,Description of Nikolay Petrow and Alexander Ghindin Piano Duo
Blue Orchid, official website. Retrieved December 24, 2010
Retrieved December 24, 2010 and began learning the piano at the age of three. At the Central Music School of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

his teacher was Tatyana Kestner and in 1961 Petrov entered the class of

Yakov Zak Yakov Izrailevich Zak ( uk, Яків Ізраїлович Зак), (russian: link=no, Яков Израилевич Зак), ''Jiakov Israilevič Sak''; Odessa, – Moscow, 28 June 1976) was a Soviet and Russian pianist and pedagogue. People's ...

at the Conservatory itself. He subsequently won second prize at the

Van Cliburn International Piano Competition The Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (The Cliburn) is an American piano competition by The Cliburn, first held in 1962 in Fort Worth, Texas and hosted by the Van Cliburn Foundation. Initially held at Texas Christian University, the co ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and won second prize at the

Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition The Queen Elisabeth Competition ( nl, Koningin Elisabethwedstrijd, french: Concours musical international Reine Élisabeth) is an international competition for career-starting musicians held in Brussels. The competition is named after Queen ...

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. Petrov gave regular performances in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory as well as touring widely and appearing at major world venues such as

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

, the

Concertgebouw The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...

, the

Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I l ...

(

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

) and the

Teatro Colón The Teatro Colón (Spanish: ''Columbus Theatre'') is the main opera house in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is considered one of the ten best opera houses in the world by National Geographic. According to a survey carried out by the acousti ...

. Petrov's large repertoire included more than fifty concertos and he worked with many prominent conductors, including

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian conductor best known for his interpretations of Mahler, Strauss and Russian composers such as Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich. During his lifetime he was ...

Kirill Kondrashin Kirill Petrovich Kondrashin (, ''Kirill Petrovič Kondrašin''; – 7 March 1981) was a Soviet Union, Soviet and Russian Conducting, conductor. People's Artist of the USSR (1972). Early life Kondrashin was born in Moscow to a family of orchestra ...

Gennady Rozhdestvensky Gennady Nikolayevich Rozhdestvensky, CBE (russian: Генна́дий Никола́евич Рожде́ственский; 4 May 1931 – 16 June 2018) was a Soviet and Russian conductor. Biography Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born in Moscow. H ...

Yevgeny Svetlanov Yevgeny Fyodorovich Svetlanov (russian: Евгéний Фёдорович Светлáнов; 6 September 1928 – 3 May 2002) was a Russian conductor, composer and a pianist. Life and work Svetlanov was born in Moscow and studied conducting wi ...

and

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (russian: Ю́рий Хату́евич Темирка́нов; kbd, Темыркъан Хьэту и къуэ Юрий; born December 10, 1938) is a Russian conductor of Circassian ( Kabardian) origin. Early life ...

. His awards included the Grande Médaille d'Or of th
Académie Balzac

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

and the

Russian State Prize The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

. In 1998, he founded the Nikolai Petrov International Philanthropic Foundation. He served on the jury at the 2007 International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition. Nikolay Petrov died in August 2011, aged 68. He was survived by his widow Larissa and daughter Evgenia. In a telegram to his family,

Russian President The president of the Russian Federation ( rus, Президент Российской Федерации, Prezident Rossiyskoy Federatsii) is the head of state of the Russian Federation. The president leads the executive branch of the federal ...

Dmitry Medvedev Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...

stated:

Honours and awards

Order of Merit for the Fatherland Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

, 3rd class and 4th class * Order of Honour (2008) *

Honored Artist of the RSFSR Honored Artist of the RSFSR (, ''Zasluzhenny artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchestra conductors, who had outstanding achievements in the ...

(1975) *

People's Artist of RSFSR People's Artist of the USSR ( rus, Народный артист СССР, Narodny artist SSSR), also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. Nomenclature and significan ...

(1986) *

(1991) *

State Prize of the Russian Federation The State Prize of the Russian Federation, officially translated in Russia as Russian Federation National Award, is a state honorary prize established in 1992 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. In 2004 the rules for selection of laureates ...

(1993)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrov, Nikolaiarnoldovich 1943 births 2011 deaths Russian classical pianists Male classical pianists People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of Russia State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Prize-winners of the Queen Elisabeth Competition Prize-winners of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition Musicians from Moscow 20th-century classical pianists Burials in Troyekurovskoye Cemetery 20th-century Russian male musicians