Nikolay Petrov, one of the best Russian pianists, has died at 68 years of age from a heart attack he had suffered earlier this year.

      

In May, during his guest performances in Minsk, Petrov had an apoplectic stroke. He was hostipalised and was in very bad condition for almost two weeks. At the beginning of June Petrov was moved to the Central Clinical Hospital in Moscow.

      

Nikolay Petrov, People's Artist of the Soviet Union, was one of Russia’s leading pianists. He often played on tours, giving the concerts all over the world. He was always greeted with standing ovations wherever he performed – in the Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center or the Chopin-Pleyel Hall, the Concertgebouw or Royal Albert Hall.

      

Petrov was decorated with the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of third and fourth classes, he was also a Russian State Prize laureate. His first musical award was the silver medal of the First International Van Cliburn Competition in the USA in 1962. Two years lates he gained the silver medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.

      

Nikolay Petrov performed with such Russia's leading directors, as Evgeny Svetlanov, Yury Temirkanov, Gennady Rozhdestvensky and Pavel Kogan. He also performed with the world’s leading orchestra, including the New York Symphony Orchestra, the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

      

Nikolay Petrov will be buried at the Troyekurovskoye Cemetery on the 5th of August.

      

Sources: Lenta.ru Russia Today

Author: Julia Shuvalova

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