Nikolai Rubinstein
She was born into a princely family, related to the Rurik Dynasty, the founders of the Tsardom of Russia. Her grandfather was devoted to the violin and her grandmother, Alexandra Urievna Zograf-Dulov studied the piano with Nikolai Rubinstein, who founded the Moscow Conservatory; then she became a favorite pupil of Tchaikovsky. The great master dedicated two of his piano works to Alexandra.