Barshai was born on September 28, 1924, in Stanitsa Labinskaya, Krasnodar Krai, in modern-day Russia.

He performed as a soloist with Sviatoslav Richter and David Oistrakh and as a member of a trio with Mstislav Rostropovich and Leonid Kogan.

During his career Barshai won numerous Soviet and international competitions and was the founding violist of the Borodin Quartet in 1945,[4] where he remained a member until 1953.

In 2015, the English label ICA CLASSICS released a memorial project, the 20-CD A Tribute to Rudolf Barshai.

[8] In 2000, Barshai produced a performing version of Mahler's Tenth Symphony, which was left unfinished at the composer's death.