This is a recording of one of the most unique violin talents of XX century, Zoria Shikhmurzaeva / Зоря Шихмурзаева (Shikhmurzayeva, Chikhmourzaeva).
Zoria was born in the capital of Tatarstan, Kazan, USSR (now Russia) in 1933, and started playing violin at the age of 6. Her teachers were: Vladimir Wulfman, Kayum Baiburov, and Abram Il'ich Yampolsky.
Zoria was a rapidly rising star in the early 50s. Her first success was the Grand Prix and Gold Medal at the First World Festival (Первый Всемирный Фестиваль, 1957), followed by the prizes in the first Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1958), Queen Elizabeth in Belgium, and Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris. Unfortunately, the young violinist was placed on the "blacklist" and was not allowed to tour in the West for most of her life. Thus, her stunning playing is virtually unknown in Western Europe and the United States.
She has toured the former USSR extensively and often heard on the national radio within the country. She began teaching in the Moscow Conservatory in 1964 and taught for 40+ years, until October 2008 when she suffered a stroke. She passed away from a massive heart attack on April 24, 2010, in Moscow.
She is survived by her daughter, violinist Julia Bushkova, her son, conductor Evgeny Bushkov, and her grandson, violinist Marc Bouchkov.
