Shriver Hall Concert Series Presents Cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan And Pianist Armine Grigoryan In Virtual Recital

Shriver Hall Concert Series will present the mainstage debut of rising star Armenian cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan with pianist Armine Grigoryan on Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 5:30pm ET. The digital world premiere concert, recorded at Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall in Hakhnazaryan's hometown of Yerevan, Armenia, features the duo in Beethoven's Seven Variations in E-flat Major on Mozart's "Bei Männern", WoO 46; Schumann's Adagio and Allegro; and Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano; plus two works by Armenian composers - Eduard Bagdasarian's Nocturne and Alexander Grigori Arutiunian's Impromptu.

Hakhnazaryan says, "It is a true blessing to be able to share beautiful music with American audiences, especially in Baltimore, which is one of my favorite US cities. Even though I am in Armenia, and the concert for now must be digital, I really hope to meet and perform for the wonderful Baltimore audience in person in the near future. I tried to make my recital program really diverse, with different styles of music from different periods so everyone in the audience can find something to enjoy among the pieces on the program. All musicians are going through really tough times with this pandemic; not being able to play concerts, and not being able to share their music or their passion with audiences around the world is really devastating. So, I am thankful to the Maryland State Arts Council, Piatigorsky Memorial Fund, and all the Shriver Hall Concert Series donors and subscribers for this opportunity to be back 'home' - on the stage performing for you!"

Hakhnazaryan made his Baltimore debut as part of the SHCS Discovery Series in 2013 and in 2017 performed as a last-minute stand-in soloist with the Baltimore Symphony, about which The Baltimore Sun wrote, "Hakhnazaryan made every note, sung and played, communicate on a deep, personal level."

Ticket holders can watch the concert on demand for a week after the premiere and also have access to a post-concert chat with Hakhnazaryan, moderated by Shriver Hall Concert Series Executive Director Catherine Cochran.

Concert Information
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Sunday, March 14, 2021 at 5:30pm ET
Tickets: $15. Tickets include concert access and on-demand streaming of the concert for one week following, plus access to a post-concert artist conversation.
Link: www.shriverconcerts.org/hakhnazaryan

BEETHOVEN: Seven Variations in E-flat Major on Mozart's "Bei Männern", WoO 46
SCHUMANN: Adagio and Allegro, Op. 70
FRANCK: Sonata for Violin and Cello
E. BAGDASARYAN: Nocturne
A. ARUTYUNIAN: Impromptu
Narek Hakhnazaryan, cello
Armine Grigoryan, piano

Performance to be followed by Artist Conversation with Shriver Hall Concert Series Executive Director Catherine Cochran

About Narek Hakhnazaryan
Since winning the Cello First Prize and Gold Medal at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition in 2011 at the age of 22, Narek Hakhnazaryan has inspired audiences with his artistry, securing a reputation as one of the world's foremost cellists. Hakhnazaryan has performed with orchestras across the globe, earning praise from critics as "dazzlingly brilliant" (The Strad) and "nothing short of magnificent" (San Francisco Chronicle). In 2014, Hakhnazaryan was named a BBC New Generation Artist, and, in August 2016, made his BBC Proms debut to critical acclaim.

A distinguished international orchestral soloist, Hakhnazaryan has appeared with the Baltimore, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Seattle, Toronto, London, WDR, Frankfurt Radio, Sydney, New Zealand, NHK, and BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestras; the Royal Stockholm, Czech, Seoul, Netherlands, and Rotterdam Philharmonics; the Utah Symphony; Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; Orchestre de Paris; and the Teatro dell'Opera in Rome.

An eager chamber musician and recitalist, Hakhnazaryan has performed in New York's Carnegie Hall, San Francisco's Herbst Theatre, Washington DC's National Gallery of Art, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salle Pleyel Paris, Berlin Konzerthaus, Oji Hall Tokyo, Shanghai Concert Hall, and esteemed festivals such as Ravinia, Aspen, Piatigorsky, Lucerne, and Verbier, among many others. With the Z.E.N. Trio, joined by colleagues Zhou Zhang and Esther Yoo, Hakhnazaryan toured North America, UK, China, and Hong Kong. The Z.E.N. Trio released their debut album in 2017 on the Deutsche Grammophon label.

Narek Hakhnazaryan was born in Yerevan, Armenia, into a family of musicians. Mentored by the late Rostropovich, Hakhnazaryan received an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2011 where he studied with Lawrence Lesser, following studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexey Seleznyov and at the Sayat-Nova School of Music in Yerevan with Zareh Sarkisyan. Hakhnazaryan plays the 1707 Joseph Guarneri cello and F.X. Tourte and Benoit Rolland bows.

About Armine Grigoryan:

Armine Grigoryan is one of the brightest representatives of Armenian contemporary pianists. She received her entire musical education first in Yerevan Tchaikovsky School of Music, then in Yerevan Komitas Conservatoire and postgraduate studies under the supervision of professors Georgy and Sergey Saradjians.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Armine Grigoryan has toured CIS, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Check Republic, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, UAE, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Baltics, China, Japan, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico and others.

Armine Grigoryan became a Double Laureate of "Roma 2003" International Pianists Competition, where she also was awarded a special prize and medal of the Chamber of Deputies of Rome. In the same year Armine Grigoryan with Sona Barseghyan (piano duo Sonet) won the Frederic Chopin Association International Competition Prize in Rome and also the Special Prize for the Best Performance of pieces by Sergio Calligaris. She is the recipient of special awards as a piano collaborative pianist in several International competitions and has released several CDs, including Unknown Khachaturian.

Since 2005, Armine's artistic originality also shines in her concert programs as a pianist of the Aram Khachaturian Trio along with the talented musicians violinist Karen Shahgaldyan and cellist Karen Kocharyan. Outside of Armenia, the concerts of Trio were held in many countries of the world in such prestigious concert halls as Musikverein in Vienna, Laieszhalle in Hamburg, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, The Gasteig in Munich, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, and Koerner Hall in Toronto.

Together with the other members of the Trio and with the support of London resident benefactor Assadour Guzelian, Armine Grigoryan established the Classical Music Development Foundation, with the aim to celebrate the work of Armenian composers and to support young gifted musicians.

Grigoryan was awarded the Medals of the Ministry of Culture of Poland and Armenia. She is a Professor of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Director of the Aram Khachaturian Museum since 2004, she popularizes Khachaturian's music and name both nationally and abroad and establishes new links with other museums around the world.

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