Nikolai Kapustin

Initial musical training (1943–1952)

Return to Ukraine and the reclaimed piano In 1943, after Ukrainian territory was reclaimed from fascist forces, the family returned to Nikitovka. They discovered that their house had been completely destroyed during the occupation, forcing them to live in the home of their neighbors for two years until Grigory returned from the war in the summer of 1945 and rebuilt their house on its original foundation. In preparation for his entrance to the Moscow Conservatory, his teacher Avrelian Rubakh arranged a private audition with the legendary pianist and pedagogue Alexander Goldenweiser. Kapustin's performance of Liszt's immensely difficult Don Juan prompted Goldenweiser to ask Rubakh, "Where do you find such a pianist?"