Alexey Nasedkin

Alexey Arkadyevich Nasedkin (20 December 1942, Moscow – 4 December 2014, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian pianist and composer, awarded the title People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1991). He served as a professor at the Moscow Conservatory and was a member of the Union of Composers of the USSR (and later of the Russian Federation).

He studied at the Central Music School from 1949 to 1961 in the class of Anna Artobolevskaya. From 1961 to 1966 he studied at the Moscow Conservatory, working with Heinrich Neuhaus and, in special piano studies, with Lev Naumov; he continued composition studies with Sergey Balasanyan until 1968.

Nasedkin began performing in concert at the age of nine. In 1958 he appeared in a symphonic concert at the World’s Fair in Brussels, and in 1959 he performed at the 7th World Festival of Youth and Students in Vienna. He later gave solo concerts on major international stages, took part in festivals, and performed chamber music, including a duo partnership with violinist Viktoria (Viktor) Pikaizen in sonatas by Mozart, Franck, and Prokofiev, and a duo with cellist Natalia Gutman.

A substantial place in his repertoire was devoted to 20th-century music, including works by Alban Berg, Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, Richard Strauss, Anatoly Alexandrov, Arno Babajanian, Meliton Balanchivadze, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, and Nikolai Rakov. He made numerous recordings, including 46 LP releases and 10 compact discs.

As a teacher, from 1966 until the end of his life he taught special piano at the Moscow Conservatory, with a break in 1996–1999 when he taught at the Musashino Music Academy in Tokyo. Among his pupils were about twenty laureates of Russian and international competitions, including Yuri Bogdanov, R. Buerin, Vladimir Ovchinnikov, V. Pyasetsky, L. Rozanova, T. Kolesova, A. Piloyan, M. Kharsel, and N. Sukharevich. He also gave masterclasses in Australia, Germany, the United States, Taiwan, France, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and Japan, and served on juries of major international competitions in cities such as Tokyo, Bolzano, Montereale, Milan, Munich, Dortmund, and Moscow (including the Tchaikovsky Competition).

As a composer, he wrote piano and pedagogical works, including Piano Sonata No. 3 “Romantic” (1987), a Piece for Children (1976), a Children’s Album (1997), and a cycle of Preludes for piano (1966–2005). He won prizes for his own compositions, including first prizes at the Vienna competition “Music of the 20th Century” (1967) and at the Vienna International Franz Schubert Competition (1967).

His awards and distinctions included a gold medal at the World Festival of Youth and Students (Vienna, 1959), a commemorative medal of the Dinu Lipatti Musical Society (United Kingdom, 1960), 6th prize at the 2nd International Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 1962), 3rd prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition (United Kingdom, 1966), and first prize in a chamber ensemble competition in Munich (1967) with Natalia Gutman. He received the Order of the Badge of Honour (1971), became Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1979), People’s Artist of the RSFSR (1991), and was awarded the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland,” 4th class (2008).

Nasedkin was one of the founders and the president of the A. D. Artobolevskaya Foundation and served as president of the Franz Schubert Society in Russia. He died on 4 December 2014 and was buried at Krasnogorsk Cemetery. In Yaroslavl, a Young Pianists’ Competition named after A. A. Nasedkin is held once every three years.

His family included his father Arkady Alekseyevich (1906–1967) and his mother Maria Andreyevna (1904–1970). His wife, Tatyana Lvovna (born 1942), was a concertmaster at the Moscow Conservatory; his daughter, Maria Alekseyevna Yefremova (1971–2006), predeceased him.

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