Maria Milstein

receives

the Dutch

Music Prize

Violinist Maria Milstein was born in Moscow in 1985 and grew up in France. She studied with Ilya Grubert in Amsterdam and David Takeno in London, and was an “Artist in Residence” at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel from 2011 to 2014, where she studied with Augustin Dumay. Maria won second prize at the “Città di Brescia” International Competition in 2007, the Kersjes Fund Violin Scholarship in 2010, and second prize at the “Rodolfo Lipizer” International Competition in 2011. In 2016, Maria received a fellowship from the prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust. In 2015, her debut CD, *Sounds of War*, was released in collaboration with pianist Hanna Shybayeva. This CD was awarded an Edison Klassiek. In addition to her solo career, Maria is a member of the successful Van Baerle Trio, with pianist Hannes Minnaar and cellist Gideon den Herder. She has been a faculty member at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam since September 2014.

New Albums

This week also saw the release of Maria Milstein’s latest album, *La Sonate de Vinteuil*, which is currently NPO Radio 4’s “CD of the Week.” The all-French repertoire was selected based on the works of Marcel Proust, and Maria collaborated on this project with her sister, pianist Nathalia Milstein. Next month, the Van Baerle Trio will release the first CD in a series featuring Beethoven’s complete piano trios.

Human voice

Maria plays a violin by Michel Angelo Bergonzi “ex-Herman Krebbers” (Cremona, ca. 1750), which she has on loan from the Musical Instrument Fund. “Maria’s playing is blessed with a uniquely intense and lyrical character. Under her hands, the violin takes on, as it were, a human voice. Through her instrument, she speaks in a language with a wide range of expressive possibilities, varying from whispering intimacy to dynamic temperament. Through her playing, each composition tells its own unique story.” So states the advisory committee of the Dutch Music Prize.

Congratulations, Maria!