Alina Pogostkina

The violinist Alina Pogostkina has, at the age of 22 and as the first German, won the 9th International Sibelius Competition in Helsinki. Currently studying at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin, she emerged as the winner from among 58 competitors. In addition to the First Prize she also won the Special Prize for her interpretation of the Sibelius violin concerto. The Sibelius Competition is held every fifth year and is one of the most renowned competitions worldwide. Earlier prizewinners include Viktoria Mullova, Pekka Kuusisto and Nikolaj Znaider.

Alina Pogostkina was born in 1983 in St. Petersburg. In 1992 she moved to Germany, where she received her first violin lessons. After only a few years' study - with her father Alexander Pogostkin as well as with violinist Christoph Poppen and, currently, Antje Weithaas - this young musician won many important competitions, including the 1997 Louis Spohr Competition

in Freiburg, where she was the youngest competitor. In 2001 she was among the prize-winners at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels and in 2002 a competitor at the International Violin Competition in Indianapolis, USA.

Over the last few years Alina Pogostkina has gradually built up her career. The nmz (Neue Musik Zeitung) lent her the accolade "a natural talent that is rare indeed". Recent concert tours have taken her to some of the most renowned festivals and concert venues of the world. She has appeared with Michail Pletnev, Sir Roger Norrington and Marek Janowski, and many other leading figures. Alina Pogostkina's victory at the Sibelius Competition may be seen as a real starting point for a vigorous international career. Her next engagements are with the Het Residentie Orkest under Andrew Litton in The Hague and with the SWR-Sinfonieorchester in Stuttgart. She will also appear at this year's Helsinki Festival, at Bonn Beethovenfest and the Oistrakh Festival in Tallinn. Orchestral engagements in Finnland will lead her to Tampere, Lahti and to the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.