A prolific soloist and noted pedagogue, Zhislin forged a close partnership with composer Krzysztof Penderecki, premiering several of his works
Russian violinist and pedagogue Grigori Zhislin died just a few weeks before his 72nd birthday on 2 May 2017.
Born on 14 May 1945 in Leningrad, he studied with Yuri Yankelevich at the Moscow Conservatory and at the age of 22 won first prize at the Paganini Competition in Genoa and second prize at the Queen Elizabeth Competition in Brussels.
A prolific soloist, Zhislin appeared with orchestras and at festivals throughout Europe, and worked with contemporary composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Edison Denisov, Sofia Gubaidulina and Krzysztof Penderecki. He premiered the latter's Violin Concerto and Viola Concerto, and recorded all of the composer's works for the instruments.
A noted pedagogue, Zhislin was a professor of violin and viola at the Royal College of Music in London and at the Hochschule für Musik Wuerzburg, Germany. He was also a jury members at the Paganini, Montreal, Wieniawski, Citta di Brescia, David Oistrakh and Yehudi Menuhin competitions.
Among his notable former students are Ilya Grubert, Dmitri Sitkovetsky, Daniel Hope and Sergey Khatchatryan.
Photo: Sergo Kuruliszwili
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