Yuri Pochekin was born on March 12th , 1948 in Grozny. When he was 6 years old, he began
learning the violin from Sergey Klimashevsky, and under guidance of Alexander Polyanichenko, the
violinmaker from Vladikavkaz, by the age of 16 years Yuri made his first violin. In 1964, Pochekin
enrolled with the Moscow State Musical College named after Gnessins, where his teacher was
S.Mikityansky. Upon his promotion from the Musical College the talented violinist becomes the
student of the State Musical and Pedagogic Institute (GMPI) named after Gnessins (nowadays -
the Russian Academy of Music) in the classes of well-known musicians and teachers M.Fikhtengolz
and L.Sachs. Also, he is attending with enthusiasm the string quartet under direction of Rostislav
Dubinsky, the first violinist of the string quartet named after Borodin. And as regards his skill of
violin manufacturing, he is pursuing his studies by attending extracurricular activities of the well-
known master Boris Gorshkov.
The first success came to the master in 1974, when at the 4th All-Union competition of violin
makers, while competing with more experienced professional participants the violins of the 26-
years-old debutant named "Marseillaise" and "Prelude" won the first and second prizes. As the
most talented and promising young master, the Ministry of Culture sends him to traineeship in
Italy, to Cremona, homeland of great Stradivari, Guarneri and Amati. In the years 1974 - 1976 he
studied at the Institute of Violin Masters named after Stradivari, where as his mentors were
Francesco Bissolotti and Giobatta Morassi. The study of traditions and secrets of the great Italians
had a decisive influence on the formation of creative Yu.Pochekin, and the sum summarum of his
professional training was practice in Prague in 1980, by the famous Přemysl Špidlen. In these
years the young artist is actively participating in the All-Union and International Competitions,
achieving excellent results. Twice his violins are reaching the final round of to the International
Competition "Wieniawski" in Poznań, and in 1979 in Cremona at the Second International
Competition "Stradivari", which was attended by about 400 musical instruments of 193 violin
makers from 23 countries of the world, his viola wins the bronze medal. In December 1999 in
Seville (Spain) took place first International competition "Jose Contreras", where Yu.Pochekin won
a convincing victory. He was awarded with the two first prizes - for violin and for viola as well, as
two special prizes - for the best sound and for the best artistic performance. From 1987 to 1990
Yuri Pochekin was the President of the Association of violin masters of the All-Union Musical
Society; he worked with the "Guild of Masters" of the Soviet Cultural Foundation. To date he has
made about 300 instruments, violins, violas and violoncellos. In his work he uses varnish varies
from orange-golden to brown and gives the opportunity to fully reveal the beauty of the wood
texture.
Pochekin is known as a talented restorer of unique musical instruments of past centuries. He has
restored more than a thousand ancient instruments, including masterpieces by Stradivari,
Guarneri, Amati, Guadagnini, and Vuillaume... His vast experience, knowledge and intuition Yuri
Pochekin is generously sharing with his pupils, among them winner of national and international
contests.
Yu. Pochekin is the member of the Union of violin makers of Russia, and also he is the member of
the Spanish Association of violin and bow professional artists (Asociación Espaňola de Luthiers y
Arqueteros Profesionales), of the European Association of Violin Makers, of the International Art
Union of violin and bow makers (l'Entente Internationale des Maîtres Luthiers et Archetiers d'Art).
For many years he taking part in the work of the jury of national and international competitions,
including the ones named after Wieniawski in Poznan, and after Tchaikovsky in Moscow.
Pochekin,Yuri
