Born in Kiev, USSR, in 1952, Yury graduated in 1974 from the Gnessin Institute of Music in Moscow, before immigrating to the USA in 1979 where he served as Concertmaster of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and then of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Caracas, Venezuela. During this time, he also formed a highly successful Chamber Ensemble with acclaimed American pianist Harriet Serr and was chairman of the panel of judges at the final examinations in Violin of the National Conservatory of Music ‘Juan Jose Landaeta’ in Caracas in 1983 and 1984.
From 1985, Yury has held the position of Principal First Violin in the NZSO, and has also led the orchestra on numerous occasions. He has taken part in many International Festivals of the Arts in Wellington, as leader of the ‘Gezentsvey Quartet’, as a member of the Massey Piano Quartet and of the New Zealand Piano Quartet, and as a soloist.
He has recorded extensively for radio and television, as well as on a number of CDs, including ‘Romantic Strings’, which was nominated for Best Album of the Year in 1995. As Leader of the Dominion Quartet he has recorded all 17 Alfred Hill’s String Quartets on six CDs with Naxos, which have received very enthusiastic critique.
Yury teaches advanced violinists. His book Scales & Arpeggios for Violin was published in Auckland in 1995. His website is www.violinart.co.nz.