Maria Krykov - double basses - Konzerthausorchester Berlin
Maria Krykov was born in Helsinki to a Finnish-Russian family. At the age of six, she was asked to pick an instrument at the East Helsinki Music School and without any hesitation pointed to the biggest one there: the double bass. It was a moment that determined her musical career and her first teacher, Lasse Lagercrantz. She finished her Konzertexamen degree last year at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule für Musik in Berlin with Matthew McDonald. She worked as a sub-principal double bassist in the Helsinki Philharmonic from 2019, and since 2022, she is the Solo-double bassist of Konzerthausorchester Berlin.
She has been a prizewinner at several competitions, including the International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen in 2018, the Leoš Janáček International Competition in Brno in 2017, the International J. M. Sperger Competition for Double Bass in 2016, and the First International Double Bass Competition in Ankara, 2015. She was also a semi-finalist at the ARD Competition in 2016. In 2019, she shared second prize at the International Bottesini Competition in Italy.

Maria Krykov has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Helsinki Philharmonics, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Trier Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Seinäjoki City Orchestra. As an orchestral musician, she has performed with several major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Maria Krykov often plays as a chamber musician. She's been part of the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival for years. In 2019 she performed at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and in 2023 at Guy Braunstein’s Muzi Chamber Music Festival in Israel.

In 2018, Maria Krykov was awarded a prize by the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation for her outstanding achievements, and in 2020, she was named Finnish bassist of the year by the Finnish Bass Society.