Husband 'Arrested' in Murder of Concert Pianist

Natalia Strelchenko was found with fatal injuries at home
By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 31, 2015 4:31 PM CDT
Updated Aug 31, 2015 5:30 PM CDT

Police have arrested the husband of a world-renowned concert pianist after she died yesterday from severe injuries in Manchester, England. Police responded to emergency calls just after midnight "following reports that a woman had been assaulted" and found Natalia Strelchenko, 38, in need of medical attention at her home, the Independent reports. First responders tried reviving her, the Manchester Evening News reports, but the classical virtuoso died shortly after from injuries around the head and neck, according to a post-mortem. Her 48-year-old husband, double bass player John Martin—who was also her manager—is being questioned by police and "is understood to have been arrested" for murder, the Telegraph reports.

Now people in her community and the classical music world are mourning the loss of the Norwegian musician of Russian birth, who had played at such venues as London's Wigmore Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall, the Guardian reports. "I was in frequent contact with her and she was a charming, vivacious woman," says Roger Dowling, chairman of the Alderley Edge Orchestra. "She played in a very flamboyant way and she was totally approachable." She had already performed 17 concerts around the world this year, and was slated to play a Mozart piano concerto in Oslo, Norway, in October, according to her website. Now police "have a team of detectives investigating this murder," a detective says, "and are asking for anyone with information ... to please get in touch." (More murder stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X