Ivan Pochekin
s one of the most brilliant violinists of the Russian school in his generation. He rose to stardom in 2005 after winning the 3rd Niccolò Paganini International Violin Competition in Moscow. Ivan Pochekin has performed under the baton of such eminent conductors as Valery Gergiev, Mikhail Pletnev, Vladimir Spivakov, Vladimir Jurowski, Alexander Sladkovsky, Yuri Simonov, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Mark Gorenstein, Friedrich Haider, Mladen Tarbuck, Sergei Skripka, Dmitry Liss, Ignat Solzhenitsyn, Jan Latham-Koenig, Fabio Mastrangelo, and Charles Olivieri-Munroe.

Ivan has participated in various festivals, among them “The Musical Kremlin,” the Moscow Easter Festival, "La Folle Journée" in Nantes, and "Pianoscope" in Beauvais. In 2008 and 2013, on Denis Matsuev’s invitation, he performed in the "Crescendo" Festival in Kaliningrad and Pskov and the “Stars on Lake Baikal” Festival in Irkutsk. In September 2014, the violinist was honored to play the legendary ex-Paganini violin by Carlo Bergonzi, provided courtesy of Maxim Viktorov’s family, during the Grand Festival of the Russian National Orchestra when he, the Russian National Orchestra and maestro Pletnev performed Niccolò Paganini’s Violin Concerto No. 2.

Over the years, Ivan Pochekin has collaborated with the Yevgeny Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, the Tchaikovsky Great Symphony Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the Republic of Tatarstan’s State Symphony Orchestra, the Urals Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Russia, the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the Republic of Korea Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Sofia Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Oviedo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Deutsches Kammerorchester, and the Basel Symphony Orchestra.

In 2006, the violinist recorded music by Niccolò Paganini and Ernest Chausson on a debut CD sponsored by the Violin Art Foundation. In the same year, "PhilArtis" Vienna in Austria released an album entitled “Chanson Russe” with Ivan’s recordings of works by Sergei Prokofiev, Karol Szymanowski, Peter Tchaikovsky, Igor Stravinsky and Aram Khachaturian. In August 2011, Ivan Pochekin signed a contract with "Naxos" Records, an internationally famous classical music label, to record two albums of music by Niccolò Paganini, including his Violin Concertos No. 5 and 6 and several virtuoso violin pieces. The albums were released to receive highly enthusiastic critical acclaim.

"The disc stands out for its crisply defined recording and for the exceptional playing of Ivan Pochekin, whose pure tone, wide expressive range and precise articulation and tuning bring Paganini’s ideas vividly to life. The concerto’s Andante is especially eloquent in Pochekin’s hands and the high passagework in the outer movements has authentic force and brilliance.

The other two items are both excellent: I palpiti’s variation in double‑stopped harmonics, taken quite slowly, sounds truly beautiful. And the Moto perpetuo is just as spectacular—wonderful bow control and a lively sense of rhythm. I’m sure even Paganini himself would be impressed." (Gramophone, Duncan Druce)

"The Violin Concerto No. 5 in A minor[’s]…“Allegro maestoso” opens with majestic gravity that intermittently weaves a dialogue of flute and oboe during stretches of da capo.

“Andante un poco sostenuto” wallows with impressive pensive emotion that leads into Pochekin’s conception of the “Rondo: Andantino quasi allegretto” with its tarantella-like edge and spectacular arpeggios. The conclusive three minutes is where Ivan Pochekin shines the greatest with an array of dazzling staccatos in 6/8 rhythm which are mesmerizing and magnificent. Finally, Niccolò Paganini uses Gioacchino Rossini’s Tancredi, the melodramma eroico of 1813, as inspiration for violin extensions by honing in on title role’s cavatina, ’Di tanti palpiti.’ The variations on a theme, contained within three defined segments, allow Pochekin to let his hand set fire to his strings…singing with splendid array of Paganini panache.