Iso Elinson was born in Russia in 1905, and received his first instruction from his mother, who was a pupil of Anton Rubinstein. At six he attended the St. Petersburg Conservatoire and studied the piano under Professor Blumenfeld, and composition with Sokolov and Heinberg. In 1922 Elinson made his debut as a concert pianist and up to 1928 gave concerts in all the principal cities of Russia.
In 1929 Elinson left Russia and went to Berlin, where he received high praise from the leading critics. Since then he has played in most of the principal cities in Europe.