Erik Thomas Tawaststjerna (born 8 June 1951 in Helsinki, Finland) is a Finnish pianist and pedagogue who teaches at the Sibelius Academy.
After taking private piano lessons in his youth with Genrietta Mirvis in Moscow, Tawaststjerna enrolled at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Juilliard School of Music, where he studied with Dieter Weber and Sascha Gorodnitzki, respectively.
Subsequently, Tawaststjerna studied with Eugene List at New York University, where he obtained his doctorate.
Tawaststjerna returned to Finland to teach at the Sibelius Academy, where he has served on the faculty since 1982.
[1] His students (including Janne Mertanen, Henri Sigfridsson, Victor Chestopal, Julia Mustonen, Risto-Matti Marin and Terhi Dostal) have been successful in numerous Finnish and international competitions.