Biography
Mihkel Poll was born in Tallinn, Estonia, on August 14, 1986. He began his piano studies at the age of 6 in the Nõmme Music School with teacher Helve Kuuskmann. He attended the Tallinn Music High School, where he studied with Professor Ivari Ilja and Maigi Pakri. Currently he is studying at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre with Prof. Ivari Ilja and in Guildhall School of Music and Drama with Prof. Ronan O´Hora. He has also taken part in masterclasses conducted by Angela Hewitt, Peter Donahue, Vera Gornostajeva, Walter Blankenheim, Erik. T. Tawastsjerna and Hui-Ying Liu-Tawastsjerna.
Mihkel Poll has successfully participated in numerous competitions in Estonia and abroad:
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2002 - the 2nd prize at the national competition for pianists in Tallinn, Estonia
2002 - the 2nd prize in an international competition for pianists named after J.Vitols in Riga, Latvia
2004 - the 1st prize and special prize in Rina Sala Gallo international competition for pianists in Italy.
2004 - the 1st prize and 4 special prizes in the national competition for classical music interpreters “Con Brio” in Tallinn, Estonia.
2006 - the 1st prize and special prize in the 1st Tallinn International Piano Competition.
2006 - the 1st prize in 20th Ferrol International Piano Competition in Ferrol, Spain.
Mihkel Poll has given concerts in Estonia, Russia, Spain, France, Belgium. He has performed with the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Vanemuise Symphony Orchestra, Pärnu Orhchestra, among others. He has worked with conductors such as Olari Elts, Normunds Vaičis, Maria Bisanti, Jüri Alperten, Toomas Vavilov, Toomas Kapten, among others.
Mihkel Poll has an exceptionally wide range of repertoire, including composers from Bach to Ligeti. In 2007 he performed piano concerto of Ligeti with Nyyd-Ensemble under Olari Elts. In addition, he often performs chamber music with leading Estonian instrumentalists and singers.
Biography text from Last.fm, available under CC BY-SA.