Pavel Vernikov, a student of David Oistrach and S. Snitkowsky, gained his reputation as a virtuoso violinist over twenty years ago. Some prominent prizes he has won include, but are not limited to: the International ARD Violin Competition in Munich and the Grand Prix at the International Violin Competition “Vittorio Gui” in Florence.

What’s more, Vernikov has appeared in many prestigious venues, such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, La Salle Gaveau in Paris, La Scala in Milan, and Santa Cecilia in Rome. For the last 30 years he has been a member of the Tchaikovsky Trio. His artistic partners include Sviatoslav Richter, James Galway, Alain Meunier, Patrick Gallois, Maria Tipo, Natalia Gutman, Oleg Kagan, Yuri Bashmet, Elisso Virsaladze, Christian Zimmermann, and Anthony Pay.

He had the opportunity to inaugurate the Russian Academy of Higher Learning in Portogruaro, and was the Artistic Director of the Gubbio Music Festival, the Dubrovnik Chamber Music Festival and the Eilat Chamber Music Festival. He teaches and gives masterclasses around the world in Italy, France, Finland, Spain (Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia Madrid), Israel (Rubin Academy), Germany (Kronberg Academy), and more. In addition, he has been invited to be a jury member at numerous international competitions (Szigeti, Kreisler, Gui, ARD-Competition in Munich, Sendai (Japan), Budapest, Sarasate, Wieniawski, etc.). Pavel Vernikov has recorded for RCA, Ondine, and Dynamic.

As an educator, Vernikov was the professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon. Currently, he is a professor of the highly esteemed Konservatorium Wien University,  and at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne, site de Sion. His alumni consist of acclaimed musicians. Among them are: Massimo Quarta (1. Prize Paganini International Violin Competition, Genua), Fumiaki Miura (1. Prize Hannover International Violin Competition), Lorenza Borrani (Leader of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe), Fanny Clamagirand (1. Prize Fritz Kreisler International Violin Competition, Vienna and 1. Prize International Monte Carlo Violin Competition), and Miki Kobayashi (2. Prize Wieniawski Competition). In 2013, he was appointed Artistic Director of the Sion Festival in Switzerland.

Pavel Vernikov plays the beautiful Giovanni Battista Guadagnini violin, Milano 1751, owned by the family of Tibor Varga.