Valentin Berlinsky, Mainstay Cellist of the Borodin Quartet, Dies at 83-
Valentin Berlinsky, for six decades the cellist of the Borodin Quartet, one of the most renowned string quartets in the world and by all accounts the longest continuously playing one, died on Dec. 15 in Moscow. He was 83 and had lived in Moscow most of his life.
The death was announced on the quartet's Web site, borodinquartet.com, which gave no cause.
Named for the Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin, the ensemble was in fact most closely associated with the work of the 20th-century composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Mr. Berlinsky, the longest-serving member, performed with the group from shortly after its inception in 1945 till his retirement last year.
During the cold war the Borodin was the Soviet string quartet best known to the West, through its recordings and its occasional concerts in the United States and Europe. At home it was one of the most revered ensembles of the Communist era and afterward, giving command performances at the funerals of Stalin and the composer Sergei Prokofiev, who died on the same day in 1953. As The Daily Telegraph of London remarked on Tuesday in its obituary of Mr. Berlinsky, "For neither engagement were they paid."
Though Mr. Berlinsky was often described as having been present at the quartet's creation, he missed being its original cellist by a few weeks. That distinction belonged to a young man named Mstislav Rostropovich, the founding cellist of the group, originally known as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet. Shortly afterward, when Mr. Rostropovich left the quartet because of the press of other work, his friend Mr. Berlinsky took his place.
Valentin Alexandrovich Berlinsky was born on Jan. 19, 1925, in Irkutsk, Siberia. His earliest music lessons were from his father, a violinist. As a youth, Valentin was sent for further study to the Moscow Conservatory, where the young Mr. Rostropovich was among his classmates.
In the late 20th century and afterward the Borodin Quartet was known for performing the complete Shostakovich quartet cycle — 15 quartets in all — in concert halls around the world, including Alice Tully Hall in 1994. The group, whose recordings appear on the Chandos, Onyx and Teldec labels among others, is also known for its complete Beethoven cycle. The quartet — which now comprises the violinists Ruben Aharonian and Andrei Abramenkov, the violist Igor Naidin and the cellist Vladimir Balshin — is scheduled to perform in New York at the 92nd Street Y on Jan. 20.
Mr. Berlinsky's survivors include a daughter, Ludmila Berlinskaya, a concert pianist. Information on other survivors could not be confirmed.
Valentin Berlinsky, for six decades the cellist of the Borodin Quartet, one of the most renowned string quartets in the world and by all accounts the longest continuously playing one, died on Dec. 15 in Moscow. He was 83 and had lived in Moscow most of his life.
The death was announced on the quartet's Web site, borodinquartet.com, which gave no cause.
Named for the Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin, the ensemble was in fact most closely associated with the work of the 20th-century composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Mr. Berlinsky, the longest-serving member, performed with the group from shortly after its inception in 1945 till his retirement last year.
During the cold war the Borodin was the Soviet string quartet best known to the West, through its recordings and its occasional concerts in the United States and Europe. At home it was one of the most revered ensembles of the Communist era and afterward, giving command performances at the funerals of Stalin and the composer Sergei Prokofiev, who died on the same day in 1953. As The Daily Telegraph of London remarked on Tuesday in its obituary of Mr. Berlinsky, "For neither engagement were they paid."
Though Mr. Berlinsky was often described as having been present at the quartet's creation, he missed being its original cellist by a few weeks. That distinction belonged to a young man named Mstislav Rostropovich, the founding cellist of the group, originally known as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet. Shortly afterward, when Mr. Rostropovich left the quartet because of the press of other work, his friend Mr. Berlinsky took his place.
Valentin Alexandrovich Berlinsky was born on Jan. 19, 1925, in Irkutsk, Siberia. His earliest music lessons were from his father, a violinist. As a youth, Valentin was sent for further study to the Moscow Conservatory, where the young Mr. Rostropovich was among his classmates.
In the late 20th century and afterward the Borodin Quartet was known for performing the complete Shostakovich quartet cycle — 15 quartets in all — in concert halls around the world, including Alice Tully Hall in 1994. The group, whose recordings appear on the Chandos, Onyx and Teldec labels among others, is also known for its complete Beethoven cycle. The quartet — which now comprises the violinists Ruben Aharonian and Andrei Abramenkov, the violist Igor Naidin and the cellist Vladimir Balshin — is scheduled to perform in New York at the 92nd Street Y on Jan. 20.
Mr. Berlinsky's survivors include a daughter, Ludmila Berlinskaya, a concert pianist. Information on other survivors could not be confirmed.
Valentin Berlinsky, Mainstay Cellist of the Borodin Quartet, Dies at 83-
Valentin Berlinsky, for six decades the cellist of the Borodin Quartet, one of the most renowned string quartets in the world and by all accounts the longest continuously playing one, died on Dec. 15 in Moscow. He was 83 and had lived in Moscow most of his life.
The death was announced on the quartet's Web site, borodinquartet.com, which gave no cause.
Named for the Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin, the ensemble was in fact most closely associated with the work of the 20th-century composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Mr. Berlinsky, the longest-serving member, performed with the group from shortly after its inception in 1945 till his retirement last year.
During the cold war the Borodin was the Soviet string quartet best known to the West, through its recordings and its occasional concerts in the United States and Europe. At home it was one of the most revered ensembles of the Communist era and afterward, giving command performances at the funerals of Stalin and the composer Sergei Prokofiev, who died on the same day in 1953. As The Daily Telegraph of London remarked on Tuesday in its obituary of Mr. Berlinsky, "For neither engagement were they paid."
Though Mr. Berlinsky was often described as having been present at the quartet's creation, he missed being its original cellist by a few weeks. That distinction belonged to a young man named Mstislav Rostropovich, the founding cellist of the group, originally known as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet. Shortly afterward, when Mr. Rostropovich left the quartet because of the press of other work, his friend Mr. Berlinsky took his place.
Valentin Alexandrovich Berlinsky was born on Jan. 19, 1925, in Irkutsk, Siberia. His earliest music lessons were from his father, a violinist. As a youth, Valentin was sent for further study to the Moscow Conservatory, where the young Mr. Rostropovich was among his classmates.
In the late 20th century and afterward the Borodin Quartet was known for performing the complete Shostakovich quartet cycle — 15 quartets in all — in concert halls around the world, including Alice Tully Hall in 1994. The group, whose recordings appear on the Chandos, Onyx and Teldec labels among others, is also known for its complete Beethoven cycle. The quartet — which now comprises the violinists Ruben Aharonian and Andrei Abramenkov, the violist Igor Naidin and the cellist Vladimir Balshin — is scheduled to perform in New York at the 92nd Street Y on Jan. 20.
Mr. Berlinsky's survivors include a daughter, Ludmila Berlinskaya, a concert pianist. Information on other survivors could not be confirmed.
Valentin Berlinsky, for six decades the cellist of the Borodin Quartet, one of the most renowned string quartets in the world and by all accounts the longest continuously playing one, died on Dec. 15 in Moscow. He was 83 and had lived in Moscow most of his life.
The death was announced on the quartet's Web site, borodinquartet.com, which gave no cause.
Named for the Russian Romantic composer Alexander Borodin, the ensemble was in fact most closely associated with the work of the 20th-century composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Mr. Berlinsky, the longest-serving member, performed with the group from shortly after its inception in 1945 till his retirement last year.
During the cold war the Borodin was the Soviet string quartet best known to the West, through its recordings and its occasional concerts in the United States and Europe. At home it was one of the most revered ensembles of the Communist era and afterward, giving command performances at the funerals of Stalin and the composer Sergei Prokofiev, who died on the same day in 1953. As The Daily Telegraph of London remarked on Tuesday in its obituary of Mr. Berlinsky, "For neither engagement were they paid."
Though Mr. Berlinsky was often described as having been present at the quartet's creation, he missed being its original cellist by a few weeks. That distinction belonged to a young man named Mstislav Rostropovich, the founding cellist of the group, originally known as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet. Shortly afterward, when Mr. Rostropovich left the quartet because of the press of other work, his friend Mr. Berlinsky took his place.
Valentin Alexandrovich Berlinsky was born on Jan. 19, 1925, in Irkutsk, Siberia. His earliest music lessons were from his father, a violinist. As a youth, Valentin was sent for further study to the Moscow Conservatory, where the young Mr. Rostropovich was among his classmates.
In the late 20th century and afterward the Borodin Quartet was known for performing the complete Shostakovich quartet cycle — 15 quartets in all — in concert halls around the world, including Alice Tully Hall in 1994. The group, whose recordings appear on the Chandos, Onyx and Teldec labels among others, is also known for its complete Beethoven cycle. The quartet — which now comprises the violinists Ruben Aharonian and Andrei Abramenkov, the violist Igor Naidin and the cellist Vladimir Balshin — is scheduled to perform in New York at the 92nd Street Y on Jan. 20.
Mr. Berlinsky's survivors include a daughter, Ludmila Berlinskaya, a concert pianist. Information on other survivors could not be confirmed.
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