“Zhislin is a virtuoso with lyrical talent and a truly romantic temperament”

The Strad

Born in 1974, Yuri Zhislin studied the violin at the Moscow Gnessin Music School for musically gifted children with Ms Svetlova and later at the Royal College of Music with his father, Grigori Zhislin and Dr. Felix Andrievsky.

He became the BBC Radio Two Young Musician in 1993 and he won top prizes at Dvarionas (1989), Carmel (1999), Trio di Trieste (1997), Douai (1996) and Pablo Sarasate (1991) International Violin Competitions.

Yuri Zhislin appeared in major concert halls throughout the world, performing at the Wigmore Hall, the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room, the Concertgebouw and gave recitals and performed with various orchestras in Russia and in the UK, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Spain, France, Germany, Yugoslavia, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Poland, the USA, Australia and New Zealand.

In recent seasons, he performed with the BBC Concert Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Lublin Philharmonic, the Louisiana Strings, the Asturias Symphony Orchestra and the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra and Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra among many others.

Yuri Zhislin has made his viola concerto debut in October 2005, performing Hindemith's "Der Schwanendreher" Viola Concerto in Zaragoza, Spain.

In high demand both on violin and viola at international festivals around the world, he has collaborated with Maria Joao Pires , Michael Collins, Natalie Clein, Alexander Rudin, Sarah Chang, Chloe Hanslip, David Geringas, Ashley Wass and Sergey Nakariakov among many others.

Yuri Zhislin has made a number of recordings and appeared in live broadcasts on the BBC Radio Two, Radio Three and various classical networks throughout Europe and the USA.

Between 2000 -- 2005, he was an Artistic Director of the Evaristo Valle International Music Festival in Spain and he is a founder and Artistic Director of the Russian Virtuosi of Europe - an ensemble that brings together some of the finest Russian musicians who are now based in Western Europe. Following their successful debut at the Wigmore Hall in June 2004, the group has participated in major events throughout Europe and South America.

Yuri Zhislin is a professor of violin at the Royal College of Music in London.