Nikolai Alexandrowitsch Tokarev, born Nikolaj on May 21, 1983 in Moscow, is a Russian pianist. He began his musical education at the Gnessin Music School in Moscow and graduated with honors in 2001. At age fourteen, he embarked on a tour in Japan, and in 2000, he won the 10th Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Bergen, Norway. Tokarev continued his studies at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester from 2004 to 2006, earning a gold medal in 2004. He then pursued postgraduate studies in Düsseldorf under Barbara Szczepanska. His debut album No. 1 was released by Sony Classical in 2007, featuring works by Chopin, Bach/Siloti, Schubert, Liszt, Rosenblatt, Mussorgsky, and Prokofiev. This album earned him the ECHO Klassik award for best newcomer (piano) in 2008.
