Valentin Berlinsky

Who was Valentin Berlinsky?

Valentin Berlinsky was a Russian cellist. He was a founding member of the world-famous Borodin Quartet in 1945 and was a member until 2007. He was the only Quartet member to have played in it from the beginning. Berlinsky played for the Borodin Quartet for 60 years, making him the longest-serving member of what The New York Times described as being "by all accounts the longest continuously playing" string quartet in the world.

The group originally came together in 1945 as the Moscow Conservatoire Quartet with Mstislav Rostropovich on cello, Rostislav Dubinsky and Nina Barshai on first and second violins and Rudolf Barshai on viola, all members of a class taken by Mikhail Terian, the viola player of the Comitas Quartet. However, after a couple of weeks Rostropovich found he was too busy and nominated Berlinsky in his place. They signed an oath of allegiance in their own blood which Berlinsky retained. He also maintained a complete log of their many performances.

The quartet first met Dmitri Shostakovich in 1946 and became his interpreter. The group was known for its performances of all 15 quartets in the Shostakovich quartet cycle at concert halls around the world, including in 1994 at Alice Tully Hall in New York City.