Biography (read more)
Yuri Abramovich Bashmet was born on 24 January 1953 in Rostov-on-Don and grew up in Lviv, where he began on the violin before turning to the viola. He studied at the Moscow Conservatory and won first prize at the 1976 international viola competition in Munich, a success that opened an international solo career. In 1986 he founded the chamber orchestra Moscow Soloists, which he has directed ever since. He also works as a conductor and teaches at the Moscow Conservatory. He plays a viola made by Paolo Testore in Milan in 1758.
Bashmet did much to establish the viola as a solo instrument on the international concert platform at a time when it had few dedicated recitalists. He has commissioned and premiered a large body of new music for the instrument from composers including Alfred Schnittke, Sofia Gubaidulina and Giya Kancheli. His recordings, many for Deutsche Grammophon and RCA, cover both the historical viola repertoire and these newer works. Through Moscow Soloists and his festival work he has also become an influential figure in Russian musical life more broadly.
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