Renowned Russian pianist Nikolai Petrov has died in a Moscow hospital after suffering a stroke a few months ago. He was 68.

Mr Petrov suffered a stroke in May while touring in Belarus and had since been in hospital in severe condition.

Mr Petrov was born in 1943 into a family of musicians. He started touring in the early 1960s and was one of the few Soviet pianists to play abroad during the Cold War.

He performed with the New York Symphony Orchestra, the Washington National Symphony Orchestra and top European orchestras. But Mr Petrov had always regarded the Moscow Conservatory as his main stage.

While Russian classical music was suffering from severe under-investment in the 1990s, Mr Petrov was one of the few musicians to remain based in Russia and help young musicians, mostly paying out of his own pocket.

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