Aylen Pritchin is one of the most vivid and versatile violinists of his generation. He was born in Leningrad in 1987 and began to study the violin at the age of six. He graduated from The Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Frequently tours throughout Russia and abroad. Over-all winner at the Kreisler Competition in Vienna and the Oistrakh Competition in Moscow. In 2011 he received the Special Jury Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition and was a prize-winner at the Wieniawski International Competition in Poznań. In 2014 he won the Grand Prix at the Long–Thibaud–Crespin Competition in Paris. In 2019 he won the 4th prize and a special prize “For artistic craftsmanship and programmes’ beauty” at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Has toured to Bulgaria, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Israel, Japan and Vietnam. Has given recitals at prestigious concert venues including the Great Hall of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, the Konzerthaus in Vienna, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Théâtre des Champs Élysées in Paris.

Andrey Gugnin is rapidly gaining international acclaim as a passionately virtuosic performer, who possesses an “extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination” (Gramophone). In 2020, the BBC Music Magazine Awards named Gugnin the winner of the Instrumental Award for his recording Shostakovich: 24 Preludes – Piano Sonatas 1 & 2 (Hyperion). Since winning the prestigious Sydney International Piano Competition in 2016, Gugnin has gone from strength to strength in concerts and recordings which exhibit his impassioned interpretations. In addition to winning in Sydney, Gugnin also received prizes at this illustrious competition for Best Overall Concerto, Best 19th/20th Century Concerto, Best Violin and Piano Sonata, and Best Preliminaries for his first-round recital. His also won the Gold Medal and Audience Award at the XCI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in 2014, and second prize at the 2013 Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna.