Nikolai Rubinstein

Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein (1835–1881) was a Russian virtuoso pianist, conductor, and one of the key organizers of Moscow’s musical life in the second half of the 19th century. He founded the Moscow Conservatory (with Prince Nikolai Petrovich Trubetskoy as co-founder) and became its first director, as well as professor of the piano class. He was the younger brother of the pianist and composer Anton Grigoryevich Rubinstein.

He was born in Moscow and began studying music at the age of four under his mother’s guidance; from the age of seven he appeared in concerts together with his brother Anton. From 1844 to 1846 he lived in Berlin with his mother, sister, and brother, studying piano with Theodor Kullak and music theory with Siegfried Dehn; later he studied with the Russian pedagogue and composer Alexander Villoing. Early recognition brought him into high society, where he developed a lasting passion for card games, reportedly losing a large part of his fees throughout his life.

Rubinstein studied at the Faculty of Law of Moscow University (1851–1855), becoming close to figures of Russian culture such as Alexander Ostrovsky and Apollon Grigoryev. After graduating in 1855 he entered government service in the chancellery of the governor-general, but in 1857 he left the service, divorced, and dedicated himself entirely to music; in 1858 he resumed regular concert activity. In 1855 he married Elizaveta Dmitrievna Khrushchyova; the marriage was unsuccessful and ended after three years, with no children. The same year he met Mily Balakirev, who noted Rubinstein’s intellect, simplicity, and wide musical knowledge.

His devotion to supporting young talent became a defining trait. He actively helped the young Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, lodging him in his own apartment and assisting him materially and socially; according to later accounts, Rubinstein also introduced Tchaikovsky to Nadezhda von Meck. Rubinstein participated broadly in Moscow’s cultural initiatives, including involvement in opening the publishing firm of Pyotr Jurgenson, leadership in a fund supporting widows and orphans of musicians, organizational help to provincial teachers, and regular charity concerts.

As a conductor and musical organizer, Rubinstein played a central role in major events and premieres. In June 1880 he organized the musical program for the unveiling of the Pushkin monument in Moscow and conducted Sergei Taneyev’s cantata “I have raised a monument…”. Under his direction took place the first productions of Tchaikovsky’s opera “Eugene Onegin” and Gluck’s “Orpheus and Eurydice”. He was regarded as a profound interpreter and champion of Tchaikovsky, giving first performances of many of the composer’s piano and symphonic works; his popularity was noted by Fyodor Dostoevsky in letters from 1872.

In 1865 Rubinstein helped create the Artistic Circle, a club of Moscow’s creative intelligentsia, whose members included Ivan Turgenev and Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin. In 1866 he took an active part in establishing the Moscow Conservatory, becoming its first director. He was celebrated as a piano pedagogue and an exceptionally strong conductor (critics compared him in this respect to Richard Wagner). He performed primarily in Moscow with a wide repertoire centered on Bach, Beethoven, Liszt, Schumann, Chopin, and contemporary Russian composers, and conducted more than 250 concerts in Moscow, St Petersburg, and other cities.

Rubinstein composed relatively little, writing mainly piano pieces and songs. In the late 1870s the proceeds from concerts he gave in 33 Russian cities were donated to the Red Cross to aid the wounded in the Russo-Turkish War. He died suddenly in Paris in 1881 of tuberculosis; Moscow’s city council financed the transfer and burial of his body, and Anton Rubinstein traveled to bring him home. He was buried at the Danilov Monastery necropolis and later reinterred at Novodevichy Cemetery.

After his death Jurgenson published an album of Rubinstein’s complete piano works. Tchaikovsky commemorated him with the Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50, “In memory of a great artist”, and also dedicated to him the Second Piano Concerto and the “Russian Scherzo”; Taneyev’s cantata “John of Damascus” was likewise associated with the event. Rubinstein’s memory was honored in Moscow through regular memorial dinners before 1917, institutions bearing his name, and museum and competition initiatives connected with the Moscow Conservatory.

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