His areas of activity are extensive. He is a recorder player, lecturer, music editor, restorer and developer, and editor-in-chief of *Windkanal*. In addition, he is part of the management team at Mollenhauer. Enjoy discovering more!
Nik Tarasov studied at the "Meistersinger Conservatory of the City of Nuremberg" as well as at the "University of Music Würzburg," graduating in concert performance (recorder) and music education under Prof. Dr. Peter Thalheimer and Prof. Bernhard Böhm. He passed the state examination in composition theory under Dr. Vivienne Olive and Dieter Buwen.
From 2016 to 2024, Nik Tarasov served as president of ERTA Germany (European Recorder Teachers Association). He has led recorder classes at the University of Music Karlsruhe and the Mozarteum University Salzburg in professional development events. His commitment to providing comprehensive teaching and educational resources includes lectures at institutions such as the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), Bern University of the Arts, Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, Conservatorium van Amsterdam, as well as participation in musicology seminars and music conferences (ERTA Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Portugal, and Spain, the 7th Stuttgart Bach Week, Stuttgart Recorder Symposium, etc.). He has also given lectures at festivals in Japan, Taiwan, the USA, Australia, England, France, Italy, and more.
He undertook further training in recorder making with Joachim Paetzold in Tübingen. He is responsible for the development, care, and restoration of the *Aeon Workshop Collection*—one of the world’s largest private collections of historically playable concert recorders.
Building on tradition, Nik Tarasov has also dedicated himself to the musical advancement of the recorder. He is considered a pioneer of modern recorder design in collaboration with renowned manufacturers. The *Modern Alto Recorder* and *Modern Soprano Recorder*, developed for Conrad Mollenhauer GmbH in Fulda, are now used by leading recorder soloists. He also developed the electro-acoustic recorder *Elody*. Nik Tarasov is part of the management team at Mollenhauer, where he is responsible for development and quality management.
Nik Tarasov contributes to music journals, is chief editor of the recorder magazine *Windkanal*, and co-author of both the *Lexikon der Flöte* and the recorder history book *The Recorder*, published by Yale University Press. In addition, he publishes sheet music through publishers such as Schott and Doblinger, as well as through his own label, Aura Edition. He is active as an instrumental soloist in Germany and abroad, performing with artists like Michala Petri and Claudio Abbado. He has made numerous recordings on CD and DVD, for radio and television, and for internet formats—often featuring his own arrangements and compositions.
The consolidation of various private collections in the 1990s led to the creation of the Aeon Workshop Collection.
In contrast to the purely conservational responsibilities of museums, the focus is on researching and preserving the musical qualities of the instruments.
The collection includes unique historical instruments from the recorder family spanning five centuries.
In addition to colletibles from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, the collection focuses on recorders, csakans, and flageolets from the 19th century, as well as recorders from the period of rediscovery and modernization in the 20th century.
Nik Tarasov is the curator of the collection and responsible for its maintenance.