Pogostkina is the daughter of two professional violinists. She began playing the violin at the age of four and quickly showed herself to have exceptional talent. She gave her first concerts at the age of five. In 1992 the family moved to
Heidelberg, Germany, where the eight-year-old Alina and her parents initially had to make a living as street musicians. Pogostkina has competed with success in several international violin competitions. She won the 1997
Louis Spohr Competition, won fourth prize at the
Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2001, and in 2005 she won first prize at the Ninth
International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki, as well as a special prize for the best interpretation of the
Sibelius Violin Concerto. At the time of her victory in the Sibelius competition, Pogostkina was studying at the
Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin, where she was a student of
Antje Weithaas. She currently lives in Berlin. ==Career==