The 29-year-old violinist won €5000 for his performance of Prokofiev Violin Concerto no.1

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Dmitry Serebrennikov © Krzysztof Lisiak

Russian violinist Dmitry Serebrennikov has taken the top prize at the Mieczysław Wajnberg International Violin Competition. The final round was held in Katowice, Poland on 11 December, where Serebrennikov performed Prokofiev Violin Concerto no.1 with the Karol Szymanowski Academic Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Alexander Humala.

Second prize was awarded to Danish violinist Christine Bernsted, while third prize went to Polish violinist Sara Dragan.

Serebrennikov comes from a musical family, commencing his violin studies at the age of five with  Russian professor Vladimir Ovcharek, followed by Alexander Stang. He is a graduate of St Petersburg Conservatory as well as the Haute École Musique de Lausanne, where he studied with Pierre Amoyal, and Hochschule der Künste Bern. He is a member of the Zurich Opera House Orchestra.

The competition commemorates the relatively unknown Polish composer Mieczysław Wajnberg. The jury was chaired by Szymon Krzeszowiec and consisted of Andreas Vierziger, Bartłomiej Nizioł, Maria Sławek, Aleksander Trostiansky, and Jennifer Pike.

Read: Jennifer Pike: Life Lessons

Read: Jennifer Pike: The Polish Violin: Volume 2

Read: Giuseppe Gibboni wins 56th Paganini Competition