The NY Times has not yet posted an obituary for violist and conductor Rudolf Barshai, who died early last week. There are articles on AOL, the Telegraph (London), and Google via Agence-France Presse. And you shouldn’t miss the article in The Globe and Mail (hat tip: Sybille Werner). Barshai had a huge repertoire as both soloist and conductor, and his recordings of the complete Shostakovich symphonies with the WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln that were released on Brilliant Classics remain one of the best CD bargains ever, particularly for the late symphonies.

UPDATE: Via Anne Ozorio comes this link to Classical Iconoclast on Barshai’s passing.

UPDATE, 11/10/10: NY Times finally posts their Barshai obit. There’s also a fine tribute by David Nice (along with some streaming music) and commentary on a particularly uplifting recording made by Barshai with a terrific youth orchestra at Classical Iconoclast.