© ALLEGRAMechthild  Karkow,  professor  of  baroque  violin  since  2013  at  the  University  of  Music  and Theatre in Leipzig, developed a busy concert career whilst still studying at the conservatoires of Lübeck, Hannover, Frankfurt and Basle. Her   musical   training   began   with   Nora   Chastain   at   the   Lübeck   and   Zurich/Winterthur conservatoires,  and  continued  with  Ulf  Schneider  in  Hannover,  where  she  gained  her performance diploma with distinction in 2005. Since 2002 Mechthild Karkow has dedicated herself to period performance,  receiving  tuition from  John  Holloway,  Simon  Standage  and  Anton  Steck. In  2006  she  made  the  decision  to specialise  in  the  baroque  violin,  and  went  on  to  graduate  from  the  Frankfurt  University  of Music  and  Performing  Arts,  as  a  student  of  Petra  Müllejans. She also studied with Chiara Banchini at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, where in June 2010 she was awarded a Master of  Arts  with  distinction,  before  completing  a  Masters  in  historical  improvisation  under  Rudolf Lutz and Emmanuel Le Divellec. Mechthild Karkow  holds  a  scholarship  from  the  Yehudi  Menuhin  trust, "LiveMusicNow",  was winner  of  the  Premio  Bonporti  international  baroque  violin  competition  in  Rovereto,  Italy  in 2007, and won a special prize at the Leipzig International Bach Competition in 2010. Mechthild  Karkow  performs  internationally  as  a  soloist  and  concertmaster,  and  also  as  a chamber  musician  in  various  ensembles. She  records  for  radio  and  CD,  and  plays  in  such festivals as the Festival Alte Musik Zürich, the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Seviqc Brežice Festival, the International Festival Echternach, the York Early Music Festival and the Göttingen and Halle International Handel Festivals. She works together with renowned musicians such as Christoph Coin, Andrea Marcon, Mark Minkowski  and  Nikolaus  Harnoncourt,  and  plays  in  orchestras  such  as  the  Orchestra  of  the Age  of  Enlightenment,  Philharmonia  Zurich  (Zurich  Opera  Orchestra),  Basle  Chamber Orchestra,  La  Cetra,  the  European  Brandenburg  Ensemble, the  European  Union  Baroque Orchestra and the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra. In  addition  to  her  professorship  at  the  University  of  Music  and  Theatre  in  Leipzig,  Mechthild Karkow has also been teaching baroque violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main since 2015. back