Yuli Turovsky

Yuli Turovsky, a Russian-Canadian cellist and conductor, gained lasting recognition through his leadership of the I Musici de Montreal Chamber Orchestra. An extensive body of recordings together with decades of teaching established him as a major influence on classical music.

Born in Moscow on June 7, 1939, he took up the cello at seven and received his earliest lessons at the Central Music School. From 1957 to 1969 he trained under Galina Kozolupova at the Tchaikovsky Academic Music College of the Moscow State Conservatory, completing a doctorate with highest honors. While there he held the post of principal cellist in the Moscow Chamber Orchestra led by Rudolf Barshai, captured first prize in the U.S.S.R. Cello Competition, and began teaching at both the Central Music School and the Tchaikovsky College. He continued these activities until 1976, when he relocated to Canada with his family.

By 1977 he had made his home in Montreal and joined the faculty of the Montreal Conservatory. He also founded the Borodin Trio with Luba Edlina and Rostislav Dubinsky. Canadian citizenship was granted in 1980, and he began teaching at the University of Montreal in 1981. Two years later he established the I Musici de Montreal Chamber Orchestra and named his wife, Eleonora Turovsky, concertmaster. The group toured widely across Canada and the United States and launched a recording relationship with the Chandos label, with its accounts of Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, and Schoenberg proving especially successful. After more than twenty recordings with the Borodin Trio, Turovsky left the ensemble in 1993 to concentrate on performing and recording with I Musici. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s the orchestra came to rank among Canada’s foremost classical ensembles, issuing over forty albums under his direction. Declining health forced him to step down from the University of Montreal in 2010 and from I Musici the following year. He died in Montreal in 2013 from Parkinson’s disease.