Yuri Torchinsky is Violin Professor at the Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) and Leader of the BBC Philharmonic (1996-2025).
Born in Kharkov, Ukraine, in 1955, Yuri was still a student at the conservatory in Moscow when, at twenty-four, he became the youngest ever Concertmaster (or Leader) of the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. He spent the next twelve years working in Moscow and touring the world with the renowned orchestra and ballet company, both as its Leader and as a soloist.
Yuri began playing the violin aged six and was quickly recruited by the Moscow Violin School to study in the capital of the Soviet Union. He graduated from the Moscow State Conservatory, where he studied under Professor Maya Glezarova, and where he became Violin Professor in 1990.
Before his orchestra career began, Yuri had been successful in several major violin competitions, most notably in the 1981 Humla International Violin Competition, in Zagreb, where he won First Prize and the Special Jury Award from the Zagreb TV and Radio Orchestra, for best performance of Brahms’ Violin Concerto. Two years later, Yuri would win Second Prize in the 1983 Tokyo International Violin Competition.
Yuri toured Europe and worked as leader with major conductors, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Georg Solti, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Rafel Frühbeck de Burgos, and Mstislav Rostropovich, among others. He also guest-led a number of orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Royal Opera House Orchestra, as well as others.
The BBC Philharmonic made Yuri its Leader in 1996. Since joining, Yuri has made regular appearances as a soloist with the orchestra, including performances of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in York and Durham. During his almost thirty years with the BBC, Yuri has made over two hundred recordings with Chandos Records as Leader of the orchestra, as well as a soloist, including performances of the Romance from Shostakovich’s Suite from The Gadfly, and recorded Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto for the radio.
During his time in the UK, Yuri worked as chamber musician with his wife, the pianist Dina Parakhina, including a performance of Three Brahms Violin Sonatas at the RNCM, as well as several recitals for the Manchester Midday Lunchtime series at the Bridgewater Hall. In 2006, Yuri performed at the Shostakovich: His Heroes and Comrades Festival with the BBC Philharmonic, and at the RNCM’s Comrades Festival, as a chamber musician.
Yuri retired as Leader from the BBC Philharmonic in 2025, having spent most of his life leading two of the world’s greatest orchestras on the eastern and western borders of Europe. He continues his teaching career as Violin Professor, as an adjudicator and participant of international academies, and as a chamber musician.
