Valentin Zhuk is a Soviet and Dutch violinist, born on June 28, 1934, in Moscow. He is the son of Isaac Zhuk.
He graduated from the Central Music School and the Moscow Conservatory in 1957, where he studied with Abram Yampolsky. In postgraduate study he was taught by Leonid Kogan. Zhuk has cited Nathan Rakhlin, Kirill Kondrashin, and Yevgeny Svetlanov among the musicians whose artistic association influenced him.
In 1957, Zhuk won first prize in the performance competition at the World Festival of Youth and Students in Warsaw. He subsequently received sixth prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, second prize at the Long-Thibaud International Competition in 1960, and second prize at the Paganini Violin Competition in 1963.
From 1970 to 1989, he served as concertmaster of the Moscow Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. He has lived in the Netherlands since 1989, where he became concertmaster of the Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory.
He was named Honored Artist of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1977 and People’s Artist of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic in 1987.