Tchaikovsky
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Nikolai Rubinstein

Nikolai Grigor'evich Rubinstein (Николай Григорьевич Рубинштейн) was a Russian pianist, conductor and teacher, younger brother of Anton Rubinstein; born 2/14 June 1835 at Moscow.

His formative years were spent in Moscow, where his merchant father Grigorii Rubinstein had recently opened a small pencil factory, Nikolai studied piano with his mother from the age of four, In 1844 he was taken to Berlin to study under Theodor Kuliak (1818-1882) and Siegfried Dehn (1799-1858); he made his debut in November 1843 aged just eight, in one of his older brother Anton's concerts.

From 1851 to 1855 Nikolai studied law and medicine at Moscow University, where he became increasingly popular within with the city's literary-artistic circles. In 1860 he was appointed head of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society, where he arranged (and conducted) symphonic, chamber and choral concerts, which became generally popular due to their affordable ticket prices.In October 1860 he esablished the RMS music clases, which led to the opening of the Moscow Conservatory in 1866, Nikolai serving as its director and piano professor. It was on the recommendation of his brother Anton Rubinstein that Nikolai appointed Tchaikovsky as appointed preofessor of music theory at the new establishment, encouraged his musical abilities, and even gave him lodgings in his own apartment.

Rubinstein did a great deal to promote Tchaikovsky's music, and between 1866 and 1880 he conducted the premieres of almost every orchestral compostion the latter had written. The young composer was very grateful for Rubinstein's support, dedicating more of his works to him than to anyone else - namely the Symphony No. 1 (1866-68), the Scherzo á la russe for piano, Op. 1 (1867), the Serenade for N. G. Rubinstein's Name-Day (1872), the song So what? (No. 5 of the Six Romances, Op. 16 (1872). There is no evidence to substantiate the assertion that Tchaikovsky reputedly dedicate his Piano Concerto No. 1, Op. 23 (1874-75) to Rubinstein, but he did receive the dedication of the Piano Concerto No. 2, Op. 44 (1880).

Tchaikovsky was deeply upset to learn of Nikolai's sudden and unexpected death from tuberculosis in Paris on 23 March 1881, aged just 45. The Piano Trio, Op. 50, begun some months later to commemorate his friend's passing, is dedicated "to the memory of a great artist".