Former Borodin Quartet Violinist Andrei Abramenkov has Died, Aged 88

The Russian violinist appeared with the group between 1974 and 2011

Violinist Andrei Abramenkov, who was a member of the renowned Russian ensemble the Borodin Quartet, has passed away at the age of 88. Abramenkov performed with the group between 1974 and 2011, and in 2007 became the quartet's last link to the era of Shostakovich, when cellist Valentin Berlinsky chose to retire.

Born in 1935, Abramenkov grew up in a family of musicians, with his father playing the violin in the Bolshoi Theater orchestra and his mother working as a pianist. Abramenkov first encountered music as a member of the Bolshoi choir and then studied the violin at the Central School of Moscow and the Moscow Conservatory.

The early part of Abramenkov's career was spent in the Moscow Chamber Orchestra, which he joined at the invitation of Rudolf Barshai. He then replaced the Borodin Quartet's second violinist, Yaroslav Alexandrov, who retired due to poor health at around the same time that the quartet's first violinist, Rostislav Dubinsky, defected to the West.

As a result, Abramenkov's arrival coincided with a time of upheaval and change for the ensemble, and violinist Mikhail Kopelman began working with the group at the same time.

"There was a new and very conscious evaluation of the music, on a deeper and more philosophical level," Abramenkov later said of that time.

When Abramenkov stepped down from the quartet in 2011, his position was filled by Sergey Lomovsky.

Our condolences to Mr. Abramenkov's family, friends, and colleagues.