Moscow String Quartet

Boris Kuschnir founded the Moscow String Quartet in 1970. Its members included violinist Raimundas Katilius, violist Igor Sulyga and, initially, cellist Ivan Monighetti, who was later succeeded by Alexander Osokin.

The ensemble, formed by students, won first prizes at international competitions in Belgrade in 1971 and Bratislava in 1972. Its repertoire included classical works, music by contemporary Moscow composers and Dmitri Shostakovich’s late quartets.

The musicians were able to work personally with Shostakovich on his music. In his conversation with Nikolaj Znaider for The Strad, Kuschnir describes what those quartet years taught him: reading scores, shaping a shared sound and finding the balance between voices. These experiences later became important in his teaching.

The musicians went their separate ways in 1979. Kuschnir and Sulyga reunited in the Kopelman Quartet in 2002.

Sources: St Petersburg Philharmonia archive and conversation with Nikolaj Znaider.