Honoured artist of the Russian Federation, the violinist Mikhail Shestakov had his musical training with Zinaida Gilels and Irina Svetlova at the Gnesin Music Institute, and under Semen Snitkovsky and Marina Yashvili at the Moscow Conservatory. From 1980 he played with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, and joined the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra in 1988, to be appointed concertmaster in 1992. He has a wide repertoire, and appears regularly as a soloist with the orchestra. He is also leader of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra’s string quartet, which appears in Russia and abroad.
