Rudolf Barshai was a Soviet violist and conductor, founder of the Moscow Chamber Orchestra and an important figure in twentieth-century Russian musical life.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears with Leonid Kogan, Mstislav Rostropovich and Emil Gilels in Soviet chamber recordings.

Barshai’s musicianship combined chamber-music discipline, modern repertory experience and the authority of a performer who later became a major conductor.

His page is justified by stature and catalogue context. Barshai gives the Soviet chamber shelf a viola line with conductor’s eyes.