Levon Ambartsumian
Encyclopedia
Levon Ambartsumian is Armenian
classical violinist and conductor. Levon Ambartsumian currently lives and works in Athens, Georgia
, United States.
Levon Ambartsumian studied in the Moscow Central Music School and then in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory
, where his teachers were Mikhail Garlitsky, Felix Andrievski, Yuri Yankelevich
, Leonid Kogan and Igor Bezrodny. In 1977 he became the First Prize winner of Zagreb International Violin Competition headed by Henryk Szeryng
. Two years later he was a prizewinner of the Montreal International Competition, and in 1981 he won the USSR Violin Competition in Riga
, Latvia
.
Levon Ambartsumian was distinguished as Honored Artist of Armenia
in 1988 and Honored Artist of Russia in 1997. Since 1977 Ambartsumian has performed regularly in all the main cities of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as he was not permitted to accept invitations to travel to the West. He has collaborated with conductors and composers such as Valery Gergiev
, Vladimir Fedoseev
, Maxim Shostakovich
, Aram Khachaturian
, Alfred Schnittke
, and many others.
Since 1988 he performed in the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Brazil, and South Korea. In 1989, Ambartsumian founded the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, which started to regularly perform in Russia. Amabartsumian joined the faculty of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1978 where he taught for 15 years. He was for two years a Visiting Professor at Indiana University
School of Music
. In 1995, Ambartsumian accepted the position of Franklin Professor of Violin at the University of Georgia
School of Music.
Ambartsumian devotes himself to contemporary Russian, Armenian and American Music and has made several important world premiers. He has released several CDs, including music by Wieniawski
, Sarasate
, Brahms
, Mendelssohn
, Tchaikovsky
, Vivaldi
, Stravinsky
, Bartók
, Shostakovich
, Schnittke
, Bronner, Arutiunian
and other contemporary composers. As a teacher, Ambartsumian has given master classes in Russia, Armenia, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, and France. His former students hold principal positions in major European orchestras in Germany, France, Portugal, and Denmark, and many have been prizewinners at international violin competitions.
Source: adapted from artist's website http://www.ambartsumian.com
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....
classical violinist and conductor. Levon Ambartsumian currently lives and works in Athens, Georgia
Athens, Georgia
Athens-Clarke County is a consolidated city–county in U.S. state of Georgia, in the northeastern part of the state, comprising the former City of Athens proper and Clarke County. The University of Georgia is located in this college town and is responsible for the initial growth of the city...
, United States.
Levon Ambartsumian studied in the Moscow Central Music School and then in the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, where his teachers were Mikhail Garlitsky, Felix Andrievski, Yuri Yankelevich
Yuri Yankelevich
Yuri Yankelevich was an eminent Soviet violin teacher who nurtured many generations of Russian virtuosos during his tenure at the Moscow Conservatory.-Life and career:...
, Leonid Kogan and Igor Bezrodny. In 1977 he became the First Prize winner of Zagreb International Violin Competition headed by Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng
Henryk Szeryng was a Polish violinist.-Early years:He was born in Żelazowa Wola, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy family....
. Two years later he was a prizewinner of the Montreal International Competition, and in 1981 he won the USSR Violin Competition in Riga
Riga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
.
Levon Ambartsumian was distinguished as Honored Artist of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
in 1988 and Honored Artist of Russia in 1997. Since 1977 Ambartsumian has performed regularly in all the main cities of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe as he was not permitted to accept invitations to travel to the West. He has collaborated with conductors and composers such as Valery Gergiev
Valery Gergiev
Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...
, Vladimir Fedoseev
Vladimir Fedoseyev
Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev is a Russian conductor.Fedoseyev graduated from the Gnessin State Musical College 1957, and Moscow Conservatory 1972. From 1974 artistic director and chief conductor of the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra of Moscow Radio 1974-1999. He has also served as principal...
, Maxim Shostakovich
Maxim Shostakovich
Maxim Dmitrievich Shostakovich is a Russian conductor and pianist. He was the second child of Dmitri Shostakovich and Nina Varzar.Since 1975, he has conducted and popularised many of his father's lesser-known works....
, 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...
, Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
, and many others.
Since 1988 he performed in the USA, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Brazil, and South Korea. In 1989, Ambartsumian founded the ARCO Chamber Orchestra, which started to regularly perform in Russia. Amabartsumian joined the faculty of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 1978 where he taught for 15 years. He was for two years a Visiting Professor at Indiana University
Indiana University Bloomington
Indiana University Bloomington is a public research university located in Bloomington, Indiana, in the United States. IU Bloomington is the flagship campus of the Indiana University system. Being the flagship campus, IU Bloomington is often referred to simply as IU or Indiana...
School of Music
Jacobs School of Music
The Jacobs School of Music of Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana, is a music conservatory established in 1921. Until 2005, it was known as the Indiana University School of Music...
. In 1995, Ambartsumian accepted the position of Franklin Professor of Violin at the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
School of Music.
Ambartsumian devotes himself to contemporary Russian, Armenian and American Music and has made several important world premiers. He has released several CDs, including music by Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski
Henryk Wieniawski was a Polish violinist and composer.-Biography:Henryk Wieniawski was born in Lublin, Congress Poland, Russian Empire. His father, Tobiasz Pietruszka, had converted to Catholicism. His talent for playing the violin was recognized early, and in 1843 he entered the Paris...
, Sarasate
Pablo de Sarasate
Pablo Martín Melitón de Sarasate y Navascués was a Navarrese Spanish violinist and composer of the Romantic period.-Career:Pablo Sarasate was born in Pamplona, Navarre, the son of an artillery bandmaster...
, Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
, Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
, Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, Vivaldi
Antonio Vivaldi
Antonio Lucio Vivaldi , nicknamed because of his red hair, was an Italian Baroque composer, priest, and virtuoso violinist, born in Venice. Vivaldi is recognized as one of the greatest Baroque composers, and his influence during his lifetime was widespread over Europe...
, Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
, Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
, Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke
Alfred Schnittke ; November 24, 1934 – August 3, 1998) was a Russian and Soviet composer. Schnittke's early music shows the strong influence of Dmitri Shostakovich. He developed a polystylistic technique in works such as the epic First Symphony and First Concerto Grosso...
, Bronner, Arutiunian
Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian , also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի...
and other contemporary composers. As a teacher, Ambartsumian has given master classes in Russia, Armenia, South Korea, Canada, Brazil, and France. His former students hold principal positions in major European orchestras in Germany, France, Portugal, and Denmark, and many have been prizewinners at international violin competitions.
Source: adapted from artist's website http://www.ambartsumian.com
Discography
- Music of Sarasate and Wieniawski, with A. Sheludyakov, piano
- From Bach to Schnittke
- Music of Wieniawski
- Sonatas of Brahms, with E. Rivkin, piano
- Sonatas of Shostakovich, with A. Sheludyakov, piano
- Russian Violin Sonatas, with A. Sheludyakov, piano
- Music of Stravinsky and Bartók, with A. Sheludyakov, piano
- Vivaldi's Concerti, with A. Kniazev, cello, and ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Mendelssohn's Concerti, with E. Rivkin, piano, and ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Antonio Vivaldi, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Music of Alfred Schnittke, with Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra
- Violin Concertos of Arutiunian, Vasks, Bronner, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Violin Concertos of Bronner, Vasks, A. Tchaikovsky, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Music of Lewis Nielson, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Music of Shostakovich, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra
- Music of Tchaikovsky, with ARCO Chamber Orchestra