Ara Malikian
Encyclopedia
Ara Malikian is a Lebanese
violin
ist of Armenian
descent.
. At 15 he was the youngest student to be admitted in this school. Later he continued his studies in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London
, at the same time receiving lessons from professors Franco Gulli, Ruggiero Ricci
, Ivry Gitlis
, Herman Krebbers
and members of the Alban Berg Quartet
.
He has assimilated the music of other cultures like those of the Middle East (Arab
and Jewish
), Central Europe (gipsy and Klezmer
), Argentina (tango
) and Spain (flamenco
).
With a wide-ranging repertoire, that includes the majority of all the important pieces written for the violin (concerts with orchestra, sonatas and pieces with piano and chamber music) he has also premiered pieces from modern composers like Franco Danatoni, Malcolm Lipkin, Luciano Chailly
, Ladislav Kupkovich, Loris Tjeknavorian
, Lawrence Roman and Yervand Yernakian. Malikian also plays recitals for solo violin with programs featuring complete cycles of the "24 Caprices" of Paganini, the "6 Sonatas" of Eugène Ysaÿe
and the "Sonatas and Partitas" of J.S. Bach.
He has been recognized in numerous competitions, among which are the First Prizes obtained in the International Competitions "Felix Mendelssohn" (1987, Berlin, Germany) and "Pablo Sarasate" (1995, Pamplona, Spain) besides other prizes like those from the competitions "Niccolo Paganini" (Genoa, Italy), "Zino Francescatti" (Marseille, France), "Rodolfo Lipizer" (Gorizia, Italy), "Jeunesses Musicales" (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), "Rameau" (Le Mans, Francia), "International Artists Guild" (New York, USA), and the "International Music Competition of Japan". In 1993 he received the "Prize for Artistic Devotion and Achievement" from the German Ministry of Culture.
He has played in more than 40 countries: New York (Carnegie Hall
), Paris (Salle Pleyel
), Viene (Musikverein), Toronto (Ford Center), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real), Venice, Los Angeles, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Cuba, Barcelona and Bilbao among others. He has also participated in the festivals at Aspen, Colamar, Prades, Schleswig Holstein, Braunschweig, San Sebastian, Segovia, Bergen, Freden, Metlach and Prague.
As a soloist he has been invited by the following orchestras: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
, Zürich Chamber Orchestra
, London Chamber Orchestra
, Genova Opera Orchestra, Sinfónica de Madrid, Sinfónica de Portugal, Chamber Orchestra of Tübingen, Moscu Virtuosi, Belgrade Philharmonic, Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, Armenia Philharmonic and Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, under the direction of such important directors as Mariss Jansons
, Peter Maag
, Jesús López-Cobos
, Vladimir Spivakov
, Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, Luis Antonio García Navarro
, Vassili Sinaisky, Edmond de Stoutz, Gudni Emilson, Juan José Mena and Jo Ann Falletta.
He lives in Madrid, where he was the concertmaster of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (resident orchestra of the Madrid Royal Opera
). In Le Boeuf sur le Toit
by D. Milhaud, in the version for violin and orchestra, under the direction of Gómez Martínez; and in the "Concerto for Violín and Orchestra in D minor" by Aram Khachaturian
under the baton of Jesús López-Cobos.
He plays in duo since 1995 with the pianist Serouj Kradjian
, also of Armenian origin, with whom he recorded the complete cycle of Sonatas by Robert Schumann (Hänsler) and the record "Miniatures" (Malkrafon), an exquisite anthology of music for violin and piano written by Armenian composers. He has also recorded numerous discs for record companies such as BMG, Auvidis, Trittico Classics and Elite Music, including among many other compositions, "The Four Seasons
" of Vivaldi (more than 80,000 copies sold for UNICEF).
He also maintains a close collaboration with José Luis Montón. He has also worked with the Lebanese singer Fairuz, the flamenco dancers Joaquín Cortés and Belén Maya, the Ensamble Nuevo Tango and the jazz pianist Horacio Icasto. He has also worked with film-music composers like Alberto Iglesias, with whom he recorded the soundtrack for Hable Con Ella, the last movie by Almodóvar, or Pascal Gainge in Otro Barrio by the director Salvador García Ruiz.
Ara Malikian has released albums "Manantial" and "De la felicidad" accompanied by the flamenco guitarist José Luis Montón. This last CD has been nominated by the Spanish Academy of Music for the best New Music CD of the year. With Warner Malikian has also recorded a double CD with some of the most significant works of Paganini, including his "24 Caprices for Violin Solo", an album with some compositions by Sarasate accompanied by the Armenian pianist Serouj Kradjian, the "Six Sonatas" for violin by Ysaÿe and the "Sonatas and Partitas" by J. S. Bach.
Ara Malikian has been nominated twice for the best classical performance in the 2007 Music Prizes in Spain given by the Spanish Academy for his recording of the Poema Concertante by Xavier Montsalvatge
, along with the Castilla y León Symphonic Orchestra; as well as for a piece with Joan Valent, Suso Sáiz and Marc Blanes.
As guest artist:
Soundtracks:
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
violin
Violin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
ist of Armenian
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
descent.
Biography
Ara Malikian began studying the violin at an early age with his father. He gave his first concert at the age of 12 and when he was 14 he was invited to study in Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
. At 15 he was the youngest student to be admitted in this school. Later he continued his studies in the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, at the same time receiving lessons from professors Franco Gulli, Ruggiero Ricci
Ruggiero Ricci
Ruggiero Ricci is an Italian-American violinist known for performances and recordings of the works of Paganini. He was born in San Bruno, California. Ricci's brother was cellist and his sister Emma played violin with the New York Metropolitan Opera.He is the son of Italian immigrants. His...
, Ivry Gitlis
Ivry Gitlis
Ivry Gitlis is an Israeli violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He has performed with the world's top orchestras , and many of his recordings are considered classics.-Life:Born in Haifa, Mandate Palestine to Jewish immigrants from Russia,...
, Herman Krebbers
Herman Krebbers
Herman Krebbers is a Dutch violinist.Born in Hengelo, Overijssel, Krebbers studied in Amsterdam with Oskar Back. In 1943, the 19 year-old violinist debuted with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and eventually became the Orchestra's Concertmaster in 1962.In parallel he led a shining career as a...
and members of the Alban Berg Quartet
Alban Berg Quartet
The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after the famous composer Alban Berg.-Members:- Beginnings :...
.
He has assimilated the music of other cultures like those of the Middle East (Arab
Arab music
Arabic music or Arab music is the music of the Arab World, including several genres and styles of music ranging from Arabic classical to Arabic pop music and from secular to sacred music....
and Jewish
Jewish music
Jewish music is the music and melodies of the Jewish People which have evolved over time throughout the long course of Jewish History. In some instances Jewish Music is of a religious nature, spiritual songs and refrains are common in Jewish Services throughout the world, while other times, it is...
), Central Europe (gipsy and Klezmer
Klezmer
Klezmer is a musical tradition of the Ashkenazic Jews of Eastern Europe. Played by professional musicians called klezmorim, the genre originally consisted largely of dance tunes and instrumental display pieces for weddings and other celebrations...
), Argentina (tango
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre of simple quadruple metre and binary musical form, and the social dance that accompanies it. Its lyrics and music are marked by nostalgia, expressed through melodic instruments including the bandoneon. Originated at the ending of the 19th century in the suburbs of...
) and Spain (flamenco
Flamenco
Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....
).
With a wide-ranging repertoire, that includes the majority of all the important pieces written for the violin (concerts with orchestra, sonatas and pieces with piano and chamber music) he has also premiered pieces from modern composers like Franco Danatoni, Malcolm Lipkin, Luciano Chailly
Luciano Chailly
Luciano Chailly was an Italian composer and arts administrator. He is the father of harpist Cecilia Chailly and conductor Riccardo Chailly. As a composer, Chailly was best-known for his operas, many of which were composed to libretti by Dino Buzzati.-Reference:*...
, Ladislav Kupkovich, Loris Tjeknavorian
Loris Tjeknavorian
Loris Tjeknavorian is a contemporary Iranian-Armenian composer and conductor...
, Lawrence Roman and Yervand Yernakian. Malikian also plays recitals for solo violin with programs featuring complete cycles of the "24 Caprices" of Paganini, the "6 Sonatas" of Eugène Ysaÿe
Eugène Ysaÿe
Eugène Ysaÿe was a Belgian violinist, composer and conductor born in Liège. He was regarded as "The King of the Violin", or, as Nathan Milstein put it, the "tzar"...
and the "Sonatas and Partitas" of J.S. Bach.
He has been recognized in numerous competitions, among which are the First Prizes obtained in the International Competitions "Felix Mendelssohn" (1987, Berlin, Germany) and "Pablo Sarasate" (1995, Pamplona, Spain) besides other prizes like those from the competitions "Niccolo Paganini" (Genoa, Italy), "Zino Francescatti" (Marseille, France), "Rodolfo Lipizer" (Gorizia, Italy), "Jeunesses Musicales" (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), "Rameau" (Le Mans, Francia), "International Artists Guild" (New York, USA), and the "International Music Competition of Japan". In 1993 he received the "Prize for Artistic Devotion and Achievement" from the German Ministry of Culture.
He has played in more than 40 countries: New York (Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
), Paris (Salle Pleyel
Salle Pleyel
The Salle Pleyel is a concert hall in Paris, France. The resident ensembles are the Orchestre de Paris and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France.-History and Design:...
), Viene (Musikverein), Toronto (Ford Center), Madrid (Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real), Venice, Los Angeles, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Cuba, Barcelona and Bilbao among others. He has also participated in the festivals at Aspen, Colamar, Prades, Schleswig Holstein, Braunschweig, San Sebastian, Segovia, Bergen, Freden, Metlach and Prague.
As a soloist he has been invited by the following orchestras: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra
The , or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra . It assumed its present name in 1951.Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as the pit ensemble for some productions at New National Theatre, Tokyo, the city's leading opera house...
, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra
The Bamberg Symphony is a German orchestra based in Bamberg and well known for its artistic excellence and frequent international touring...
, Zürich Chamber Orchestra
Zurich Chamber Orchestra
The Zurich Chamber Orchestra is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Zurich. The ZKO's principal concert venue in Zurich is the Tonhalle. The ZKO also performs in Zurich at the Rietberg Museum, the ZKO-Haus in the Seefeld quarter of the city, and such churches as the Fraumünster and the Kirche St....
, London Chamber Orchestra
London Chamber Orchestra
The London Chamber Orchestra ' is the longest established professional chamber orchestra in the UK. Based in London, LCO has a residency at St John's Smith Square in Westminster.-History:...
, Genova Opera Orchestra, Sinfónica de Madrid, Sinfónica de Portugal, Chamber Orchestra of Tübingen, Moscu Virtuosi, Belgrade Philharmonic, Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, Armenia Philharmonic and Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid, under the direction of such important directors as Mariss Jansons
Mariss Jansons
Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons is a Latvian conductor, the son of conductor Arvīds Jansons. His mother, the singer Iraida Jansons, who was Jewish, gave birth to him in hiding in Riga, Latvia, after her father and brother were killed in the Riga Ghetto...
, Peter Maag
Peter Maag
-Life:He was born on 10 May 1919 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and died on 16 April 2001 in Verona, Italy.His father, Otto, was a Lutheran minister and his mother, Nelly, a violinist who performed in the Capet Quartet as second violinist. His great uncles were conductors Emil and Fritz Steinbach. ...
, Jesús López-Cobos
Jesús López-Cobos
Jesús López-Cobos is a Spanish conductor.López-Cobos was born in Toro, Zamora, Castile-León, Spain. He studied at Complutense University of Madrid and graduated with a degree in philosophy...
, Vladimir Spivakov
Vladimir Spivakov
Vladimir Teodorovich Spivakov is a leading Russian conductor and violinist best known for his work with the chamber orchestra....
, Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, Luis Antonio García Navarro
Luis Antonio García Navarro
Luis Antonio García Navarro , was a Spanish conductor.-Biography:García Navarro was born in Chiva, Valencia , and studied in Valencia and the Madrid Royal Conservatory before moving to Vienna to study at the University of Music and Performing Arts with Hans Swarowsky, Karl Oesterreicher, and...
, Vassili Sinaisky, Edmond de Stoutz, Gudni Emilson, Juan José Mena and Jo Ann Falletta.
He lives in Madrid, where he was the concertmaster of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (resident orchestra of the Madrid Royal Opera
Teatro Real
The Teatro Real or simply El Real , is a major opera house located in Madrid, Spain.-History:...
). In Le Boeuf sur le Toit
Le Boeuf sur le Toit
Le boeuf sur le toit, Op. 58 is a surrealist ballet made on a score composed by Darius Milhaud which was in turn strongly influenced by Brazilian popular music. The title is that of an old Brazilian tango, one of close to 30 Brazilian tunes quoted in the composition...
by D. Milhaud, in the version for violin and orchestra, under the direction of Gómez Martínez; and in the "Concerto for Violín and Orchestra in D minor" by Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
under the baton of Jesús López-Cobos.
He plays in duo since 1995 with the pianist Serouj Kradjian
Serouj Kradjian
-Early life and education:At fourteen earned a scholarship to study in Vienna, and was gaining allocades by the age of seven. He moved to Vienna at fourteen to pursue his training on a scholarship. He later studied with Marietta Orlov at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, where he...
, also of Armenian origin, with whom he recorded the complete cycle of Sonatas by Robert Schumann (Hänsler) and the record "Miniatures" (Malkrafon), an exquisite anthology of music for violin and piano written by Armenian composers. He has also recorded numerous discs for record companies such as BMG, Auvidis, Trittico Classics and Elite Music, including among many other compositions, "The Four Seasons
The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
The Four Seasons is a set of four violin concertos by Antonio Vivaldi. Composed in 1723, The Four Seasons is Vivaldi's best-known work, and is among the most popular pieces of Baroque music. The texture of each concerto is varied, each resembling its respective season...
" of Vivaldi (more than 80,000 copies sold for UNICEF).
He also maintains a close collaboration with José Luis Montón. He has also worked with the Lebanese singer Fairuz, the flamenco dancers Joaquín Cortés and Belén Maya, the Ensamble Nuevo Tango and the jazz pianist Horacio Icasto. He has also worked with film-music composers like Alberto Iglesias, with whom he recorded the soundtrack for Hable Con Ella, the last movie by Almodóvar, or Pascal Gainge in Otro Barrio by the director Salvador García Ruiz.
Ara Malikian has released albums "Manantial" and "De la felicidad" accompanied by the flamenco guitarist José Luis Montón. This last CD has been nominated by the Spanish Academy of Music for the best New Music CD of the year. With Warner Malikian has also recorded a double CD with some of the most significant works of Paganini, including his "24 Caprices for Violin Solo", an album with some compositions by Sarasate accompanied by the Armenian pianist Serouj Kradjian, the "Six Sonatas" for violin by Ysaÿe and the "Sonatas and Partitas" by J. S. Bach.
Ara Malikian has been nominated twice for the best classical performance in the 2007 Music Prizes in Spain given by the Spanish Academy for his recording of the Poema Concertante by Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
, along with the Castilla y León Symphonic Orchestra; as well as for a piece with Joan Valent, Suso Sáiz and Marc Blanes.
Ara Malikian Discography
- "Lejos" (2007)
- "Meeting with a friend" (2007)
- "Tears of Beauty" (2006)
- "De los Cobos / Montsalvatge" (2005)
- "De la Felicidad" (2005)
- "The Four Seasons by Vivaldi" (2004)
- "Manantial" (2002/2004)
- "Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Bach" (2003)
- "Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Ysaÿe" (2003)
- "Sarasate" (2003)
- "24 Caprices for Solo Violin by Paganini" (2003)
- "Robert Schumann" (2000)
- "All Seasons for Different" (2000)
- "500 Motivaciones" (1999)
- "Bow on the String" (1997)
- "Miniatures" (1996)
- "750 Jahre Wölpinghausen" (1996)
- "Le quatro stagioni" (1995)
As guest artist:
- "Insula Poética" En Son Brull (2006)
Soundtracks:
- "La Mala Educación" (2005) - Directed by Pedro AlmodóvarPedro AlmodóvarPedro Almodóvar Caballero is a Spanish film director, screenwriter and producer.Almodóvar is arguably the most successful and internationally known Spanish filmmaker of his generation. His films, marked by complex narratives, employ the codes of melodrama and use elements of pop culture, popular...
- "Hable con ella" (2002) - Directed by Pedro Almodóvar
- "Los Pasos Perdidos" (2001) - Directed by Manane Rodriguez
- "El Otro Barrio" (2000) - Directed by Salvador García Ruiz
- "Manolito Gafotas" (1999) - Directed by Miguel Albaladejo