Kirstin Maria Pientka

Kirstin Maria Pientka, born in Nordhausen/Harz, began playing the violin at the age of five and switched to the viola at the age of ten. Initial lessons at the Leipzig University of Music were followed by studies with Prof. Kim Kashkashian at the Freiburg and Berlin Universities of Music, a guest semester with Garth Knox (London) and Prof. Hartmut Rhode (Berlin), and graduation with a soloist exam. After winning prizes at competitions, she received invitations to renowned festivals, made numerous radio recordings, and participated in CD and DVD productions.

Kirstin Maria Pientka was a scholarship recipient of the German Music Life Foundation and the Cultural Circle of German Business at the B.d.I. She played in the Herbert von Karajan Foundation of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and is principal violist with the Dresden Symphony Orchestra. A major focus of her concert activities as a member of the KNM Berlin is contemporary music, while another is her engagement with historical performance practice on her Baroque instrument. Her profile is rounded out by her work as a jury member and her teaching at international masterclasses and workshops at music conservatories.