Yuri Mazurkevich

Canada / USA

Jury member

Yuri Mazurkevich is one of the most brilliant and distinguished violinists from the former Soviet Union. A native of Lviv, Ukraine, Yuri Mazurkevich studied with the legendary David Oistrakh at the Moscow Conservatory, where he received his Master’s Degree, the Honors Diploma, and the Artist’s Diploma. A winner in the Helsinki, Munich, and Montreal International Competitions, he performed extensively in Europe and the Soviet Union while living in the Soviet Union. For his accomplishments as a concert violinist, he was designated “Outstanding Artist of the Ukraine.”

After leaving the Soviet Union in 1975, Mazurkevich made his highly acclaimed solo debut with the Toronto Symphony. Since then he has performed throughout the US, Canada, Europe, the Soviet Union, South America, Australia, and Asia. He has worked with many great artists including Sir Andrew Davis, Raphael Hillyer, Igor Markevitch, John Ogdon, Leslie Parnas, William Primrose, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Saulius Sondeckis, and Quartet Italiano.

Mazurkevich is also an active recitalist. He was the violinist of the Quartet Canada and was the first violinist of the Leontovych Quartet for many years. As the Mazurkevich Duo, he and his violinist wife, Dana Pomerants-Mazurkevich, also a prominent student of Oistrakh, have toured numerous countries, receiving high accolades.

He has recorded on Melodiya, Masters of the Bow, SNE, and TNC/Cambria labels, and has been featured on television and radio performances for the BBC, ABC (Australia), CBS, Radio France, Sender Freis Berlin, and Radio Moscow. Besides performing a vast repertoire of major concertos and other solo works for violin, he has also premiered and recorded many contemporary works.

Mazurkevich taught at the Kiev State Conservatory in the Soviet Union, and he is a Professor of Violin at Boston University where he has taught since 1985. He has participated in numerous summer festivals including the Tanglewood Institute, Victoria International Festival, Banff Center for the Arts, Heifetz International Music Institute, and various European festivals.