Elena Istratova grew up and received her education in the Soviet Union. She was brought up in a family of professional musicians, started playing piano at the age of 5, and music became her passion and her way of life. The Russian music system is famous for its selectivity and rigorous training. It was expected that every student at the V.Uspensky Specialized School for Musically Gifted Children, where Elena studied from the first to the eleventh grade, spends many hours a day practicing and considers music as the main subject and the future profession. After a total of 18 years of intensive studies, she graduated cum laude from the Tashkent State Conservatory with qualifications of a concert pianist, chamber ensemble soloist, and piano teacher.

Tashkent is a city in the south of the former Soviet Union. During the Second World War in 1941-1945, world-famous Leningrad Conservatory was evacuated to Tashkent. Many professors liked the dry climate and friendly multinational city and stayed there after the war, which helped to establish the Tashkent conservatory as one of the strongest music schools in the Soviet Union. Elena studied under Professors T.Kontuashvili and G. Dubrovskaya, who was one of the last students of the legendary pianist Vladimir Sofronitsky.

Elena started teaching piano in 1983 and has 27 years of teaching experience. She specializes in classical piano and follows Russian traditions which gave to the world such outstanding musicians as Rachmaninov, Sofronitsky, Horowitz, Rubinstein, Richter, Gilels, and Kissin. SInce 2003, her students won 16 medals at the US Open Piano Competition and 32 medals at state competitions.

In 2006 Elena moved to Portland, OR and resumed her teaching activities in the early 2007.