Rudolf Barshai

Rudolf Borisovich Barshai (Russian: Рудольф Борисович Баршай, September 28, 1924 – November 2, 2010) was a Soviet/Russian conductor and violist.

Barshai was born in Stanitsa Labinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, and studied at the Moscow Conservatory under Lev Tseitlin and Vadim Borisovsky. He performed as a soloist as well as together with Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and as a member of a trio with Mstislav Rostropovich and Leonid Kogan. He won numerous Soviet and international competitions. He was the founding violist of the Borodin Quartet in 1945[3] and was a member until 1953. Later, he studied conducting under Ilya Musin in Leningrad Conservatory.

In 1955, Barshai founded the Moscow chamber orchestra, which he led and conducted until he emigrated to the West in 1977. He was the artistic director of the Israel Chamber Orchestra from 1976 to 1981. From 1981 until 1982 Barshai was principal conductor of Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Principal Guest Conductor of Orchestre National de France (National Orchestra of France)1985-1986. He was principal conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 1986.

Barshai achieved fame as a musical interpreter and arranger of Shostakovich's and Prokofiev's music. He is particularly noted for his arrangement of Shostakovich's String Quartet No. 8 for chamber orchestra.[4] In 2000, Barshai produced a completion of Mahler's Tenth Symphony, which was left unfinished at the composer's death. In addition, he has recorded a number of Shostakovich's works, among which was the widely-praised world premiere recording of the composer's Fourteenth Symphony. Many of his recordings have earned critical acclaim and have won international awards:

1988 Gramophone Awards – Concerto : Tchaikovsky, Piano Concerto No. 2, Rudolf Barshai conducting Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra; solo: Donohoe (EMI)
2003 Cannes Classical Music Award: Orchestral 20 Century: Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies; Barshai (Brilliant Classics)
2003 Editor's Award (ClassicsToday.com): Record of the Year: Shostakovich: Complete Symphonies; Barshai (Brilliant Classics).

In 1954, Barshai married Anna Martinson, a Russian painter and costume designer, and daughter of the Soviet comic Sergey Martinson. They have a son, Walter Barshai, born June 6, 1955. After their divorce in 1963 and his marriage to a Japanese translator, Teruko Soda (son Takeshi, b. January 10, 1967), he married concert organist Elena Raskova. Barshai resided in Switzerland until his death.

Initially best known to Western audiences for his work with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, an ensemble he founded, Rudolf Barshai later turned to directing many of the Soviet Union's leading orchestras in repertory beyond the chamber works that brought him his first recognition.

Immigration to Israel in the 1970s led to several other Western engagements before the breakdown of Communism encouraged him to return to Russia in 1993 for several important performances. He brought to both his chamber and full symphony interpretations a scrupulous musicianship and attention to tonal subtleties, as well as dynamic contrasts some found too keenly emphasized. Barshai trained as a violinist at the Moscow Conservatory with Lev Zeitlin, a pupil of Leopold Auer. Barshai then pursued study of the viola at the conservatory under the tutelage of Vadim Borisovsky, celebrated as an uncommonly astute violist and chamber player. Barshai, too, moved in the direction of chamber music, founding the Philharmonic Quartet (later reorganized as the Borodin Quartet) and making a reputation as a solo player as well.

Barshai subsequently co-founded the Tchaikovsky Quartet, finding himself also included in chamber ensembles led by violinist Leonid Kogan and performing often with such luminaries as Emil Gilels, Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, and Mstislav Rostropovich. Having harbored a not-yet-satisfied urge to direct, Barshai took up conducting studies with Ilya Musin in Leningrad, a move that led to his formation of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra in 1955. With this ensemble, Barshai was able to implement his ideas about chamber performance, foremost among them being firm, supple tone and clarity in execution. Both his Beethoven and Mozart symphony cycles were noteworthy in their day, embracing performance ideas that would be carried further during the growth of the period performance movement, then just beginning.
With the MCO, Barshai was able to tour extensively in Western countries, becoming one of the Soviet Union's most widely recognized conductors as he also began undertaking recording projects with Western artists. In the late 1960s, Barshai began to conduct other, larger orchestras in the Soviet Union. In 1969, he was assigned the premiere of Shostakovich's Symphony No. 14, whose concentrated orchestration was ideally suited to the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. In 1976, Barshai immigrated to Israel and began active participation in the nation's musical life. His leadership of the Israel Chamber Orchestra began with his arrival and continued until 1981; during that period he also directed the New Israel Orchestra. From 1982 until 1988, he was engaged as artistic adviser of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, also serving the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra as music director from 1985 to 1988. Barshai was also principal guest conductor of the Orchestre National de France beginning in 1987. He has guest-conducted a number of the world's other leading orchestras. Barshai's return to Russia in 1993 was the result of an invitation to lead the Russian National Orchestra in a performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 9.

In May 1999, a group of 20 Swiss musicians established the Camerata Rudolf Barshai, having chosen Barshai to direct their ensemble. Aside from his conducting and viola performances, Barshai has significantly added to the chamber music literature with a number of transcriptions and arrangements, in particular the several derived from Shostakovich's string quartets.