Valery Gradow
He studied at the Tchaikowski Conservatory in Moscow with Leonid Kogan, and emigrated from the former USSR in 1972. Winner of the first International Sibelius Competition in Helsinki, the International Music Prize in London and the London Harriet Cohen Foundation Medal, he has performed as soloist with the most important orchestras of the world. He has taught at the Music Academy in Gorki, at the Pedagogical Institute of Moscow; at the Folkwang Music Academy in Essen, and the Music Academy in Mannheim. In 1998-99 he was "Artist Professor of Violin” at the University of North Texas, the highest rank available within the American system. He has held masterclasses in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Korea, South Africa, France and America (Boston University, Peabody Music Institute Baltimore etc.). Among his students are names such as Frank-Peter Zimmermann. He has made recordings for Melodia, Colosseum, Aurophon and Sonora.