Yuri Bashmet

Yuri Abramovich Bashmet, a violist born in Rostov-on-Don on 24 January 1953, is one of the best-known figures on his instrument in the second half of the twentieth century. He was trained in Lviv (L'viv), where he began with the piano and, at the age of eight, took up the violin under Zoya Zertsalova, who remained his teacher when he switched to the viola at fourteen. As a teenager he also played the guitar and piano in a rock group.

At eighteen he entered the Moscow Conservatory, studying first with Vadim Borisovsky and, after the latter's death, with Fedor Druzhinin. His style draws on models such as David Oistrakh, Viktor Tretyakov, Vladimir Spivakov, Gidon Kremer, Natalia Gutman and Rostropovich. He won the International Competition in Munich in 1976, but for a decade Soviet authorities strictly restricted his performances abroad, which were almost always limited to Mozart's Sinfonia concertante alongside Spivakov. His recordings, however, made his qualities known in the West. In 1986 he founded the Moscow Soloists Chamber Orchestra, and his international career intensified from then on. That same year he premiered Schnittke's Viola Concerto, one of the most important works written for the viola in the twentieth century.

According to some accounts, although he does not reach the virtuoso level of Michael Kugel, his technique is notable and his stage presence, in suitable repertoire, is outstanding. His interpretations of Shostakovich's Viola Sonata and of works by Hindemith and Britten have been widely celebrated, although he has also been criticised for cancellations, arbitrary changes of programme and a lack of preparation for major premieres. His legacy includes the promotion of a broad contemporary repertoire, an annual festival in the Rhineland, teaching at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and the presidency of the Lionel Tertis competition. For many, he remains the leading champion of an instrument that has been unjustly undervalued.