Dmitry Mikhailovich Tsyganov (1903-1992) was a Soviet-Russian violinist and talented teacher.
The future violinist was born on March 12, 1903 in Saratov into a violinist's family. Under his father's guidance he quickly learnt music notation and the basics of violin playing. From the age of nine he studied in music classes under the Saratov Conservatoire, then at the Conservatoire itself. From 1918, the violinist began his professional career as a soloist, in ensembles and orchestras. Having volunteered for the Red Army, the musician performed on the fronts of the Civil War. Young Tsyganov was the principal of the Symphony Orchestra of the Red Army Political Department, performed as a soloist and played first violin in a quartet.  In 1920, the composer Alexander Grechaninov heard the first performance of Dmitry Tsyganov and recommended him to continue his education at the Conservatoire.

In the capital, Dmitry Tsyganov graduated with a gold medal from the Moscow Conservatoire in violin and composition, studying under Alexander Mogilevsky and Georgy Catoire.

While still a student, Tsyganov joined the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. Although he did not work there for long, his contact with first-class instrumentalists played a significant role in his development as a musician.

In 1923, Dmitry Tsyganov became one of the founders of “The Ludwig van Beethoven Quartet”*, in which he played first violin. Each year the concert activities of the ensemble led by Tsyganov became more and more widespread. The ensemble successfully performed at two All-Union competitions, toured Germany (1927) and later many other countries. The quartet was one of the country's most famous chamber ensembles.

For the public in Germany, the group's concerts were a real discovery. No one expected such a high level of performance from young musicians from the USSR. The quartet gave many concerts throughout the USSR and abroad, earning, among other things, official recognition – orders, State Prizes, titles, as well as honourable awards from France and Belgium. The quartet existed for about 50 years, performed more than 600 works, and recorded more than 200 works of Russian and world classics in recording studios. Co-operation of “The Beethoven Quartet” with Dmitri Shostakovich was particularly strong and long-lasting, from 1938 until the composer's death. The quartet was the first performer of many works by Shostakovich. The quartet ceased to exist in the early 1990s.

The talented violinist had the opportunity to play in ensembles with outstanding pianists including Heinrich Neuhaus, Maria Yudina, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Konstantin Igumnov, Maria Grinberg, Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter. From 1930-1985, Tsyganov taught at the Moscow State Conservatory named after Tchaikovsky. During the Great Patriotic War, like many Soviet musicians, Dmitry Tsyganov gave concerts for soldiers and officers, visited the battlefront.

In the last years of his life D. Tsyganov was a jury member of many international violin competitions (in Brussels, Montreal, Genoa, Prague, Bucharest, Geneva, Munich, Salzburg, Poznan, Budapest and Berlin) and a permanent jury member of the International Violin Competition named after Tchaikovsky.

Tsyganov was a brilliant connoisseur of the violin repertoire, author of many arrangements and transcriptions; his settings for violin of the Preludes by Shostakovich are well-known. He wrote articles on violin instrumental performance. Multifaceted and long-lasting activity of Dmitry Tsyganov is one of the worthy pages of Russian musical life.
The musician died on March 25, 1992, in Moscow and was buried at the Vagankovo Cemetery.

A musical selection dedicated to the birthday of the outstanding violinist is posted in the museum Phonotheque.