Elena Wilhelmovna Gladilina, née Yakobson and from 1948 also known as Petrova, was a Soviet and Russian pianist. She was born on 20 November 1937 in Moscow and died there on 28 January 2003. In 1994 she was awarded the honorary title of Merited Artist of the Russian Federation.
She began studying music in 1943 under the guidance of her aunt M. N. Petrova and later continued with her at the Sokolniki Music School. In 1950 she entered the Central Music School in Moscow, where she was supported by Heinrich Neuhaus. In 1956 she continued her studies with Neuhaus at the Moscow State Conservatory; he regarded Gladilina as one of his best students. She graduated from the Moscow Conservatory in 1962 and completed postgraduate studies there in 1966.
In 1965 and 1966 Gladilina worked as a piano teacher at the Moscow Correspondence Pedagogical Institute. From 1966 until 2003 she taught at the Department of General Piano of the Moscow Conservatory, later the Interfaculty Piano Department. Her academic career there progressed from lecturer to senior lecturer in 1977, associate professor in 1988, and professor in 2000. She trained many students during her long pedagogical career.
In 1968 a piano duo of Elena Gladilina and Natalia Yurygina was formed. In 1990 the duo became a member of the All-Union Association of Piano Duos. The ensemble was noted for making a vivid and distinctive contribution to the history of piano ensemble performance and for inspiring admiration over 35 years from both music lovers and prominent contemporary musicians.
From 1990 Gladilina and Yurygina also performed in a piano quartet together with Evgenia Karpinskaya and Elena Sokolova. The repertoire of the duo and quartet included both classical works and music by contemporary Soviet and Russian composers. Gladilina died in Moscow and was buried at the Preobrazhenskoye Cemetery.