Born in Riga, Josef Rissin was a student of Boris Belenky at Moscow's Tchaikovsky Conservatory and a laureate of such international violin competitions as the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the Paganini Competition. His concert activities have taken him to the music capitals of the former Soviet Union and throughout the West, and his performances and CD's have contributed to the interpretation of the classical Russian repertoire of the present day, alongside avant-garde Russian music. His CDs of solo pieces by Hindemith, Ysaÿe and Paganini earned great critical acclaim. Prof. Rissin leads violin classes at the University of Music Karlsruhe and at the University of Music and Theatre Zürich. His students come from all over the world and are winners of important international competitions.