Parfenov Viola‏

Valery Parfenov came to St Louis MO from Russia in 1992. He opened the First String Violin Shop in 1993 and has been a violinist with the St Louis Philharmonic Orchestra since 1995. Presently, Valery is the Philharmonic’s principal violist. He is also a member of the Violin Society of America.

In 1963, Valery started as a violist in the Russian Voronezh Symphony Orchestra. This same year, he began working in bow and instrument repair. His first hand-made viola was created in 1971 after doing an internship in the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. One of Valery’s violins received an International Diploma for having the best sounding violin in the 1983 International Competition in Sophia Bulgaria.

Valery worked as a violinmaker and restorer with the Moscow Philharmonic since 1985, and in 1989, he began working with the Moscow Conservatory as a restorer and lead violinmaker. The same year, a rare opportunity arose which allowed Valery to work with the “Russian State Collection of Unique String Instruments,” which is the world’s largest collection of rare instruments from famous violinmakers of Italy, France, Holland, Austria and Germany, including works by the famous Antonio Stradivarius.

One of Valery’s greatest teacher was Aleksandr Krilov ( Alessandro Krilovi ), who later relocated from Russia to Cremona, Italy, the “cradle of violinmaking. Their relationship began in 1982 and in 1990, Valery went to Cremona to learn from the famous Gio Batta Morassi and also to see his friend and mentor Alessandro Krilovi.

Valery has made over 130 instruments and is recognized for his acoustic work. This work enhances the instrument’s performance and clarity of sound without detracting from the individual character of the instrument. Five years ago, Valery’s one month old violin took first place in the International Competition, competing against violins of the Old Italian masters.

Presently, the First String Violin shop is located at 3107 Brown Road in Overland, Missouri. The first floor serves as the violin showroom and repair shop, and the lower level is functioning as the “First String Violin Academy” for students of string instruments.