Vladimir Mendelssohn was born into a musical family in Romania and studied viola and composition in Bucharest. He is very much in demand as a player of chamber music and regularly performs at numerous music festivals with the world’s top musicians. He has also given solo concerts and made many recordings for different record labels. Mendelssohn is a prolific composer, having written works for solo instruments, mixed choir and symphony and chamber orchestra. He has also written music for the ballet, stage and screen. At present he is professor of chamber music at the Paris Conservatoire and also teaches in The Hague, Essen and Bologna. He gives masterclasses around the world. Since the early 1980s he has regularly appeared at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and has been its Artistic Director since autumn 2005.