VII International Jascha Heifetz Competition for Violinists
14-22 February 2025, Vilnius

Pavel Vernikov

| Switzerland - Ukraine

Pavel Vernikov, a student of David Oistrach and Semyon Snitkovsky, gained a reputation of virtuoso violinist more than twenty years ago. Among his other prizes – the victory at the International ARD Violin Competition in Munich, and the grand prix at the International Vittorio Gui Violin Competition in Florence. He has appeared at such prestigious venues as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, La Salle Gaveau in Paris, La Scala in Milan and Santa Cecilia in Rome.

For the last 30 years he has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Trio. On the list of his artistic partners – Sviatoslav Richter, James Galway, Alain Meunier, Patrick Gallois, Maria Tipo, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Elisso Virsaladze, Christian Zimmermann and Anthony Pay. He was the artistic director of the Gubbio Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Chamber Music Festival and the Eilat Chamber Music Festival.

He teaches and gives masterclasses all around the world, including Italy, France, Finland, Spain (the Reina Sofía School Of Music), Israel (the Rubin Academy), Germany (the Kronberg Academy). He has also been invited to be a member of the jury at numerous international competitions (Szigeti, Kreisler, Gui, ARD-Competition in Munich, Sendai, Budapest, Sarasate, Wieniawski etc.). Pavel Vernikov has recorded for RCA, Ondine and Dynamic. He was professor at the National High Conservatory of Music and Dance of Lyon, and currently he holds a professor position at the famous Music and Arts Private University of Vienna, and at the Lausanne High School of Music.

Among his many laureate students there are Massimo Quarta (1st prize winner of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genua), Fumiaki Miura (1st prize winner of the Hannover International Violin Competition), Lorenza Borrani (leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Fanny Clamagirand (1st prize winner of the Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition in Vienna, and the 1st prize winner of the International Monte Carlo Violin Competition), Miki Kobayashi (2nd prize winner of the Wieniawski Competition).

In 2013, he was appointed artistic director of the Sion Festival in Switzerland. Pavel Vernikov plays a G. B. Guadagnini violin dating back to 1757.