Banished to the musical netherworld between flamboyant violinists and emotive cellists, they are easily overlooked and underrated. Because the solo repertoire for the viola is so lacking, most who play it are condemned to watching other soloists take the bows and collect the bouquets. Scratch one of these underappreciated artists, and a streak of musical envy is often right below the surface. And then there's the Russian virtuoso Yuri Bashmet. In fact, he's nothing of the sort.
Life is too good and too busy to be analytical about fame.
Last week he displayed his dazzling talent at the International Chamber Orchestra Series in London and Berlin, where he led the Moscow Soloists, the highly regarded ensemble he founded with young musicians from the Moscow conservatory. This week he is back home in Russia playing host to his popular monthly TV show, which features the nation's cultural elite chattering and clowning with the gregarious Yuri. They even play a little music. The son of a Russian-Jewish engineer posted to gritty Lvov in Ukraine, he was hustled off at the age of eight to violin lessons by a mother eager to give him a cultural alternative to the city's mean streets. Her plan almost failed.