Described by The Strad as a “virtuoso with a truly Romantic temperament”, Yuri Zhislin is one of the most versatile musicians of his generation. Equally at home on both violin and viola, Zhislin enjoys an active and illustrious career as soloist and chamber musician. His performances have taken him to nearly 60 countries around the globe.

A major prize-winner in the 1991 Sarasate International Violin Competition in Spain, Yuri entered the Royal College of Music in London.

In 1993, Yuri became the BBC Radio 2 Young Musician of the Year.

The orchestras that Yuri performed with as a soloist include the Oxford Philharmonic, the BBC Concert Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the Lithuanian Chamber and State Symphony Orchestras, the Queensland Symphony, the Yerevan Philharmonic, the Belgrade Philharmonic, the Russian State Chamber Orchestra, the Novosibirsk Philharmonic, the Pacific Symphony, the Madeira Classical Orchestra, the Santiago de Chile Symphony and the Altay Philharmonic, to name a few.

He appeared as a soloist and director of the Russian Virtuosi of Europe at major concert venues around the globe.

Yuri’s discography includes a recital CD released in 2005 on the SOMM label, a violin/viola Duos CD for the Naxos label in 2009, and a string trio CD for the Nymbus Alliance label with Dmitry Sitkovetsky on violin and Luigi Piovano on cello.

A keen chamber musician, Yuri is regularly invited to participate in international music festivals throughout the world. He has worked with such artists as Maria-Joao Pires, Barry Douglas, Natalie Clein, Sergei Nakariakov, Liana Isakadze and Ivan Monighetti among many others.

In 2014, he co – founded and became the Artistic Director of the Apollon International Arts Festival in Cyprus.

In 2004, Yuri formed the Russian Virtuosi of Europe, an ensemble comprising musicians with an enviable list of international awards and prizes. The ensemble recently completed successful tours to both South America and Russia. Their debut CD on Orchid Classics will be released on the 26 February 2016 and feature works by Tchaikovsky.

Yuri is a professor of violin and viola at the Royal College of Music in London and is in high demand as a visiting professor at the Narni Mozart Academy in Italy, the Leon Clases Magistrales in Spain and the Gijon Summer Academy. He also gives master classes in Russia, Bulgaria, Sweden, Madeira, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.