Alla Nikitskaya

Concert Pianist  ·  Piano Teacher  ·  New Hampshire

Alla Nikitskaya

The Russian Romantic tradition, carried from the Neuhaus school in Moscow to the concert halls of New England.

Watch her play Piano lessons
Portrait of pianist Alla Nikitskaya
  • Gnesin InstituteMoscow · and Tchaikovsky Conservatory Music College
  • Neuhaus schoolLineage of Gilels and Gornostaeva
  • Two albumsRomantic Interpretations · East Meets West
  • Fanfare MagazineFeature interview, March/April 2009

About

A pianist formed by a lineage

Alla Nikitskaya was born in Zhukovsky, outside Moscow, into a family of professional musicians. She began the piano at five, with her mother, Lada Nikitskaya, as her first teacher.

She graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory Music College and the Gnesin Institute, and represents the Heinrich Neuhaus school of piano. Her teachers, Pavel Messner, Natalia Suslova and Lada Nikitskaya, were themselves students of Emil Gilels, Lev Oborin and Vera Gornostaeva. Gilels and Gornostaeva studied with Neuhaus, Oborin with Konstantin Igumnov.

In Russia she built a career as a solo and duo pianist, performing in the Pillar Hall of the House of Unions, the Gnesin Great Concert Hall, the Scriabin Museum and galleries across Moscow. As a harpsichordist she appeared with orchestra at the Handel Festival in the Tchaikovsky Philharmonic Hall, a performance broadcast on Russian television. With her sister Maria she received a Special Award for piano duet at the Moscow Scriabin Festival.

She moved to the United States in 1999 and has performed throughout New England since, at venues including the MIT Lincoln Laboratory auditorium, Milford Town Hall and the Annicchiarico Theatre. The Romantic repertoire is her home: Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, Scriabin and Debussy. She also plays contemporary, new age and jazz arrangements, along with her own compositions.

Selected venues

  • Pillar Hall, House of Unions, Moscow
  • Gnesin Great Concert Hall, Moscow
  • Scriabin Museum, Moscow
  • Tchaikovsky Philharmonic Hall, Moscow
  • MIT Lincoln Laboratory Auditorium, MA
  • Milford Town Hall, NH
  • Annicchiarico Theatre, NH
  • Amazing Things Art Center, MA
  • Main Sound Stage, ME

Watch

Performances

Selected performances, with a particular devotion to Scriabin. Fifty are on her YouTube channel.

  • Featured · Claude Debussy

    Etude No. 6, from 12 Etudes

    Posted January 2026. She also recorded this piece on East Meets West.

  • Alexander Scriabin

    Etude in F-sharp minor, Op. 8 No. 2

  • Pyotr Tchaikovsky

    “Dialogue”, Op. 72 No. 8

  • Frédéric Chopin

    Prelude, Op. 28 No. 3

  • Franz Liszt

    Consolation No. 2 in E major

  • Alla Nikitskaya · original

    “Inspiration”

Also on the channel: some two dozen Scriabin pieces, Rachmaninoff, Medtner, more Tchaikovsky and her own compositions.

All 50 videos on YouTube

Recordings

Two albums

Album cover: Romantic Interpretations

Romantic Interpretations

Debut album · 2005

Chopin, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff and Debussy. The Revolutionary Etude, Clair de Lune and the C-sharp minor Prelude, alongside quieter pages like Rachmaninoff's “Lilacs”.

Fourteen tracks
  1. Chopin · Etude in C minor, Op. 10 No. 12 “Revolutionary”
  2. Liszt · Consolation No. 3 in D-flat major
  3. Chopin · Etude in A-flat major, Op. 25 No. 1
  4. Chopin · Nocturne in D-flat major, Op. 27 No. 2
  5. Rachmaninoff · Prelude in G-sharp minor, Op. 32 No. 12
  6. Rachmaninoff · “Lilacs”, Op. 21 No. 5
  7. Tchaikovsky · Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Op. 19 No. 4
  8. Rachmaninoff · Prelude in G major, Op. 32 No. 5
  9. Rachmaninoff · Prelude in C-sharp minor, Op. 3 No. 2
  10. Debussy · “Clair de Lune”, from Suite bergamasque
  11. Debussy · “La plus que lente”
  12. Debussy · “Golliwogg's Cake-walk”, from Children's Corner
  13. Debussy · “La fille aux cheveux de lin”, Preludes Book 1
  14. Debussy · “Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum”, from Children's Corner
Album cover: East Meets West

East Meets West

Second album · 2008

Six classical works, from Liszt and Chopin to Debussy and Liadov, then ten popular standards by Mancini, Legrand, Loewe and others, in arrangements by Chugunov, Markin, Fine and Rasin.

Sixteen tracks
  1. Wagner–Liszt · “Spinner's Song” from The Flying Dutchman
  2. Liszt · Sonetto 123 del Petrarca
  3. Debussy · Etude No. 6, from 12 Etudes
  4. Chopin · Nocturne in B-flat minor, Op. 9 No. 1
  5. Schumann · Fantasy in C major, Op. 17, first movement
  6. Liadov · Musical Snuffbox, Op. 32
  7. Mancini · Moon River (arr. Chugunov)
  8. Kaempfert · Strangers in the Night (arr. Chugunov)
  9. Legrand · The Summer Knows (arr. Rasin)
  10. Loewe · On the Street Where You Live (arr. Markin)
  11. Mandel · The Shadow of Your Smile (arr. Fine)
  12. Lai · Love Story (arr. Markin)
  13. Sherman · Chim Chim Cheree (Nikitskaya's dedication to the Shermans)
  14. Streisand · Evergreen
  15. Loewe · I Could Have Danced All Night (arr. Chugunov)
  16. Kander · Cabaret (arr. Fine)
Fanfare

In 2009, Fanfare magazine published the interview “Romantic Interpretations: Alla Nikitskaya in America” in its March/April issue, together with reviews of both albums.

Praise

In the words of colleagues

Not a single note sounds indifferent, and each small detail of musical composition remains vital.
Ekaterina MessnerConcert pianist · Laureate, International Competition of Chamber Ensembles (Tortona, 1993) · Teacher, Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory
Every piece by Chopin on this distinguished disc is perfectly judged, and the considerable virtuoso demands of some of them are never allowed to overwhelm their essential poetry. … The natural intimate and tender piano tone of the pianist is one of the most compelling features of this very special recording.
Sergei PavlovConcert pianist · Grand Prix, Bartók–Kabalevsky International Piano Competition · Artistic Director, Debut Piano Studio, Toronto
The modern piano art development requests from a performer not only the highest level of technical mastery, but also the original style, aura, great personality and difference from other performers. All these qualities belong to Alla Nikitskaya. … Every interpretation we listen to is original and convincing.
Arnold BulkinConcert pianist · Dozent, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover
I have worked with many musicians over the years but none as great an artist as Alla. Her power mixed with emotion is unparalleled. … This is how Music should be enjoyed!
F. Houston GallowayProducer, engineer, physicist, musician

Lessons

Study with Alla

Piano and music theory in the Russian tradition, taught in person in New Hampshire and online anywhere. Students learn to interpret, and some go on to compose and improvise.

Ask about lessons (603) 892-3529

  • Piano

    Technique, tone and interpretation built the way the Neuhaus school builds them: from the ear outward, with the score as the authority.

  • Music theory

    Harmony, form and ear training taught alongside repertoire, so what the hands do is understood by the mind.

  • Composition and improvisation

    Students are encouraged to write and improvise, and several perform their own pieces at recitals.

  • Student recitals

    Regular recitals give every student a stage, with programs ranging from the classics to original works.

Contact

Bookings and lessons

For concert engagements, recordings or lesson inquiries.

Phone (603) 892-3529
Based in Plaistow, New Hampshire

Your message goes directly to Alla. Expect a reply within a few days.