Vasily Besekirsky was a Russian violinist and composer. He was born in Moscow into a family of musical instrument makers and began studying the violin at the age of 12. In 1850, he joined the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theatre.
From 1858 to 1860, Besekirsky continued his studies in Belgium, learning violin with Hubert Léonard and composition with Berthold Damcke. He was also a student of Karol Lipinski. His musical training connected Czech and French traditions, and he was in close contact with Ferdinand David, Joseph Joachim, Henryk Wieniawski, and Nikolai Rubinstein.
After returning to Moscow, Besekirsky became concertmaster of the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra, a post he held until 1891, apart from 1868–1871. During that break, after a successful performance in Leipzig of a concerto he had composed, he toured Europe as a soloist. He was regarded as one of Russia’s leading violin virtuosos of the 19th century and also performed on the viola d’amore.
From 1871, he taught at courses he had established; from 1882 to 1902, he taught at the school of the Moscow Philharmonic Society. In his later years he gave fewer concerts, continued teaching, and worked on a history of violin art from the 17th to the 20th centuries. The book was published in Kyiv in 1913.
Besekirsky wrote original works for violin and orchestral compositions. He also edited Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas and partitas for solo violin. His pupils included his son Vasily, Karol Grigorovich, and Alexei Yanshinov.