What is Nikolai Rubinstein?
[[File:Nikolai Rubinstein 1872.jpg|right|thumb|Nikolai Rubstein]] '''Nikolai Grigoryevich Rubinstein''' (born [[Moscow]], 2 June 1835; died [[Paris]], 23 March 1881) was a [[Russia]]n [[piano|pianist]] and [[composer]]. He was the younger brother of [[Anton Rubinstein]] and a close friend of [[Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky]]. The Rubinstein family were middle-class [[Jew]]ish people. Like his brother Anton, Nikolai soon showed great [[talent]] as a pianist. The family spent some time in [[Europe]] including three years in [[Berlin]] where they made friends with [[Mendelssohn]] and [[Meyerbeer]]. Anton founded (started) the famous Conservatoire in [[St Petersburg]] where students could study music. Nikolai co-founded the Conservatoire in [[Moscow]] with Prince Nikolai Petrovitch Troubetzkoy. Both brothers were directors of the Conservatoires they had founded. During his lifetime Nikolai Rubinstein was thought of as one of the greatest pianists of his time. As pianists the two brothers were very different. Anton was very fiery like [[Franz Liszt]]. Nikolai was quieter and more thoughtful, preferring lyrical [[Romantic music]]. Anton liked to compose in the same way as composers from [[Western Europe]]. He was [[criticism|critical]] of Russian composers like [[Mily Balakirev]] and others from the group called [[The Mighty Handful]] who tried to make their music very Russian. Nikolai was much more broad-minded. He supported Balakirev and his group. He was a great friend of [[Tchaikovsky]] and encouraged him much more than his brother Anton had done. Nevertheless, he still criticised Tchaikovsky’s [[Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto no 1|First Piano Concerto]]. He said he would not play it until Tchaikovsky had changed it. Tchaikovsky refused to change it. Years later Nikolai decided he liked it after all. Although Nikolai wanted to be a successful composer he was aware that he was not a great one. When asked why he did not compose more he once replied that his brother “composed enough music for three”. Nikolai died in Pa