Maria Milstein (Moscow, 1985) studied violin in Fiesole with Pavel Vernikov, at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Ilya Grubert and in London with David Takeno. Maria is a prizewinner of major international competitions and awards such as Città di Brescia and Premio Rodolfo Lipizer in Italy, the Lyon International Chamber Music Competition with the Van Baerle Trio, the Concertgebouw Vriendenkrans Competition and the Kersjes Prize in the Netherlands.

Maria has performed with the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie, the Musica Viva Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and the Liège Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for the recording of works for violin and orchestra by Saint-Saëns. She has worked with conductors such as Michel Tabachnik, Christian Arming, Christopher Warren-Green, Alexander Rudin, Augustin Dumay, Reinbert de Leeuw and Ivan Meylemans. A highly appreciated chamber musician as well, she plays together with Elisabeth Leonskaja, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Hannes Minnaar, Philippe Graffin, Liza and Dmitry Ferschtman and Alexander Kniazev.

In 2008 Maria formed the Van Baerle Trio together with pianist Hannes Minnaar and cellist Gideon den Herder. Very successful at several international competitions, the trio recorded a CD with works by Saint-Saëns, Loevendie, and Ravel on the Etcetera Records label, and toured through Europe in 2014 in the ECHO Rising Stars series, playing at venues such as the Musikverein in Vienna, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Bozar in Brussels, and the Philharmonie of Cologne. The trio's debut CD, featuring works by Saint-Saëns, Loevendie, and Ravel, won the Edison Klassiek in 2013. In September 2014 the trio released a second CD with piano trios by Mendelssohn on Challenge Records.

Since September 2014 Maria has held a teaching position at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. Maria plays a violin by Michel Angelo Bergonzi (Cremona, approx. 1750) on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.