Narek Akhnazaryan, cello (Armenia)

 

Born in 1988 in Yerevan. Graduated from the Yerevan Sayat-Nova Music School (class of Zare Sarkisyan), then the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (class of Alexey Seleznev) and New England Conservatory in Boston (class of Laurence Lesser). Participated in the masterclasses of Mstislav Rostropovich, Steven Isserlis, David Geringas, Paul Katz, Ralph Kirshbaum, Frans Helmersson, etc.

 

He was a scholar of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Charitable Foundation “New Names” of Russia and Armenia, the Aram Khachaturian and Mstislav Rostropovich Foundations, and the Foundation “Russian Performance Art”. In 2007, he received the Youth Prize of the President of the Republic of Armenia. A laureate of international competitions: Aram Khachaturian Competition in Yerevan, Anna Johansen Competition in Washington, Young Concert Artists Competition in New York. In 2011, he became the first-prize winner at the 14th International Tchaikovsky Competition.

 

Narek Akhnazaryan performed in many of the world’s most prestigious halls with the most renowned ensembles, such as the Symphony Orchestras of London, Chicago, and Toronto, Frankfurt Radio, Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg, Rotterdam and Seoul Philharmonic Orchestras, La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra (Milan), Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. Collaborated with such prominent conductors as Valery Gergiev, Ton Koopman, Jaap van Zweden, Tugan Sokhiev, Neeme Järvi, Vladimir Spivakov, Mikail Pletnev, James Robertson, Jiří Bělohlávek. Participated in the festivals in Moscow (“Chereshnevy Les”), Tivoli, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Mikkeli, London, Verbier, Lucerne, Prague as well as in the Ravinia Festival in Chicago.