Basil Toutorsky, a Russian pianist and composer, taught music in Washington, D.C., for over 50 years. Born into nobility in Russia in 1896, Toutorsky began piano lessons at the age of four. He attended Novotcherkask Musical College, graduating in 1913. He then attended Moscow Imperial Lycee of Tsarecitch Nicholas and the University of Moscow, where he obtained law degrees in 1916. He also studied music with visiting professors from the Moscow Conservatory of Music. During World War I, Toutorsky served in the Imperial Russian Navy, fighting for the White Russian forces. In 1920 he fled to Turkey and in 1923 came to the United States. Pursuing a career as a musician, Toutorsky toured North America and Europe as a concert pianist and met his wife, the Mexican opera singer Maria Ignacia Howard, while on tour in 1936. He initially settled in Los Angeles before moving in 1937 to Washington, D.C., where he established the Toutorsky Academy of Music. Toutorsky gave private lessons and continued to compose music.

Known as one of the last remaining links to the pre-Revolutionary golden age of Russian music, Toutorsky wrote extensively on Russian music and frequently judged music competitions. He was a member of several professional music organizations, a member of the Military Order of World Wars, and a fellow of the International Biographical Association.

In 1988, Basil and Maria Toutorsky donated their mansion on 16th Street NW in Washington to the Johns Hopkins University. The Toutorskys died in 1989 and the university sold the building the following year to support a piano studio in their name at the Peabody Conservatory of Music.