Boris Kuschnir (born 1948) is a Soviet Austrian violinist

Background and early life

Born in

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

in 1948, he studied violin with at the

Moscow Conservatoire The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

and chamber music with Valentin Berlinsky of the

Borodin Quartet The Borodin Quartet is a string quartet that was founded in 1945 in the then Soviet Union. It is one of the world's longest-lasting string quartets, having marked its 70th-anniversary season in 2015. The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best ...

Career

His many encounters with

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

(working on his last quartets) and

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...

, with whom he also studied, had a lasting influence on his artistic development. His career started in 1969 when he was one of the three winners of the ''Allunions-Competition'' in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

where, in the final, he performed the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the ''Leningrad Symphony Orchestra'' under the baton of

Yuri Temirkanov Yuri Khatuevich Temirkanov (; ; 10 December 1938 – 2 November 2023) was a Soviet and Russian conductor, named a People's Artist of the USSR. Early life Born in 1938 in the North Caucasus city of Nalchik, Temirkanov attended the Saint Petersburg ...

. In 1970 he founded the Moscow String Quartet and remained a member until 1979. In 1982 he became an Austrian citizen and was the first concertmaster of the Bruckner Orchestra in Linz until 1983. He was appointed professor at the

Konservatorium Wien The Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (; MUK) in Vienna, Austria, is a university of music and the arts. It was previously (2005−2015) named (KONSuni, Konservatorium Wien University), and before that (Conservatory of Vienna). I ...

University in 1984 and became a distinguished professor at the University of Music in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

in 1999. He co-founded the Wiener Schubert Trio in 1984, the Vienna Brahms Trio in 1993 and the Kopelman Quartet in 2002.

Students

Several of Kuschnir's students were successful at international violin competitions: *

Julian Rachlin Julian Rachlin (born 8 December 1974) is a Lithuanian-born violinist, violist and conductor. Biography Born in Vilnius to a Jewish family, he emigrated in 1978 with his musician parents to Austria. In 1983, he entered the Konservatorium Wien an ...

(1st Prize Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians, Amsterdam 1988) *

Nikolaj Znaider Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider (born 5 July 1975 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish violinist and conductor. Biography Szeps-Znaider was born in Copenhagen to Polish-Jewish parents. His father had originally emigrated from Poland to Israel, and his mo ...

(1st Prize of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Brussels 1997) * Sergey Dogadin (1st Prize of the Joseph Joachim International Violin Competition, Hannover 2015, 1st Prize of the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition, Moscow 2019) *Pavel Milyukov (3rd Prize International Tchaikovsky Competition, Moscow 2015, 1st Prize Aram Khachaturian International Competition, 2012, 2nd Prize Seoul International Music Competition, 2012) *Lidia Baich (1st Prize Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians, Vienna 1998) * Dalibor Karvay (1st Prize Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians, Berlin 2002; 1st Prize International Tibor Varga Competition, Switzerland 2003; 1st Prize David Oistrakh Competition, Moscow 2008) * Alexandra Soumm (1st Prize Eurovision Grand Prix for Young Musicians, Lucerne 2004) *Lorenzo Gatto (2nd Prize Queen Elizabeth Competition, Brussels 2009) *Yevgeny Chepovetsky (2nd Prize David Oistrakh International Competition, Moscow 2008 and 3rd Prize Luois Spohr Competition, 2013) *Yuuki Wong (2nd Prize Michael Hill Competition, New Zealand 2007) *Julia Turnovsky (3rd Prize David Oistrakh International Competition, Moscow 2008) *

Aleksey Igudesman Aleksey Mikhailovich Igudesman (; born 22 February 1973) is a Russian-German violinist and composer. He performs in the comedy-musical duo Igudesman & Joo. Biography Igudesman was born in Leningrad, in what was then the Soviet Union, to a musi ...

( Igudesman & Joo) * María Dueñas (1st Prize Yehudi Menuhin Competition, Richmond, Virginia 2021)

Violin Competitions

Kuschnir gives masterclasses at renowned classical music events like the Verbier Festival Academy and Kronberg Academy. He was a jury member of at the Queen Elizabeth Music Competition in Brussels,

Tchaikovsky Competition The International Tchaikovsky Competition is a classical music competition held every four years in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia, for pianists, violinists, and cellists between 16 and 32 years of age and singers between 19 and 32 years of ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis, Niccolò Paganini Competition in Genua, the Jacques Thibaud Competition in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, Joseph Joachim Competition in

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, Tibor Varga Competition in Switzerland, Michael Hill Competition in New Zealand, Eurovision Competition, David Oistrakh Competition in Moscow, Pablo de Sarasate Competition in Pamplona, George Enescu Competition in Bucharest, Seoul International Music Competition, Violin Masters in Monte Carlo, ARD International Music Competition in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Louis Spohr Competition in Weimar, Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition in

Fermo Fermo (; ancient: Firmum Picenum) is a town and ''comune'' of the Marche, Italy, in the Province of Fermo. Fermo is on a hill, the Sabulo, elevation , on a branch from Porto San Giorgio on the Adriatic coast railway. History The oldest huma ...

, Aram Khachaturian International Competition in Jerewan, the Yankelevitch International Violin Competition in

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

and the

Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition Musica Viva, also known as Musica Viva Australia, is a national organisation in Australia dedicated to chamber music. History Music Viva was founded in Sydney in 1945 by Romanian-born Vienna-educated violinist Richard Goldner, who had fled Naz ...

Chamber music

In 1984 Boris Kuschnir founded the Wiener Schubert Trio. Kuschnir founded the Vienna Brahms Trio in 1993. He was co-founder of the Kopelman Quartet in 2002.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuschnir, Boris Ukrainian violinists Male violinists Ukrainian academics Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz Living people 1948 births 21st-century violinists 21st-century male musicians Academic staff of the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna