Elena Toponogova

Pianist

‘Her musicianship was mesmerising.’
Musical Opinion Magazine

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“Her performance was mesmerising!”
— Musical Opinion Magazine

Elena is a concert pianist and chamber musician based in London. Her repertoire is primarily comprised of Russian music, with a particular focus on the works of Nikolai Medtner.
Teaming up with Norwegian violinist Elisabeth Turmo, Elena recently released a CD on Quartz dedicated to music inspired by myths and legends.
Her competition successes include the prize for the best performance of a Prelude and Fugue by J.S. Bach at the Nuova Coppa International Piano Competition in Italy, the 1st prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Competition in Paris, and she was a semi-finalist in the Gershwin International Piano Competition in New York, USA.
In 2017, Elena earned a Master of Performance degree from the Royal College of Music under the guidance of Norma Fisher. She participated in masterclasses with world-renowned pianists such as Dirk Mommertz (Faure Quartet), G. Gruzman, and I. Chukovskaya and was selected to study at the Academie de Musique Riviera in Switzerland with Pavel Gililov, supported by the Help Musicians UK Transmission Fund grant.
Elena has participated in numerous music festivals, such as the Blanc European Festival in Italy, Bloomsbury Festival, and is a regular guest at the Festival of Chichester. Elena has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in prestigious venues such as the Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire, Salzburg Wiener Saal, Amaryllis Fleming Hall, V&A Museum, and St. Martin-in-the-Fields, among others.
Elena is enthusiastic about advocating for music that is rarely performed. In 2017, supported by the Oleg Prokofiev Trust, she delivered a performance of Prokofiev’s Five Poems of Anna Akhmatova at Regent Hall alongside soprano Eleanor Penfold. Musical Opinion Magazine described the concert as 'an inspiring performance.'