[1] The quartet was one of the Soviet Union's best known in the West during the Cold War era, through concert performances in the United States and Europe and through distribution of their recordings.
As one of the most revered groups during the Communist era, the quartet performed at the funerals of both Joseph Stalin and Sergei Prokofiev, who both died on March 5, 1953.
Having recruited replacements, Berlinsky insisted that the ensemble spend two years out of sight until the Borodin sound had been fully recreated.
He took violin lessons from his father, who had been a pupil of Leopold Auer and who, with his three brothers, played as the Berlinsky Quartet in that part of the Soviet Union.
Valentin Berlinsky retired from the Borodin Quartet in September 2007, and was succeeded by his protégé, Vladimir Balshin, but he still remained the group's mentor.