Spain, Portugal & Latin America
Hakhnazaryan is a compelling artist, a true virtuoso with an innate musicality and an exceptional talent for connecting with his audience. He has been described as “dazzlingly brilliant” (The Strad) and “nothing short of magnificent" (San Francisco Chronicle) and of his LAPO debut, the LA Times said “His command of the instrument is extraordinary”.
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 performed with most major orchestras and in recital and chamber music across the globe at many of the world's most prestigious festivals and venues. Hakhnazaryan is a compelling artist, a true virtuoso with an innate musicality and an exceptional talent for connecting with his audience. He has been described as “dazzlingly brillian” (The Strad) and “nothing short of magnificent” (San Francisco Chronicle), and of his LAPO debut, the Los Angeles Times said “His command of the instrument is extraordinary.”
Hakhnazaryan has enjoyed a truly global career since his rise to fame in 2011 and has played with orchestras such as the Orchestre de Paris, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, Berlin Konzerthaus, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio, Helsinki Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Chicago Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, NHK Symphony orchestras, and with conductors such as Gergiev, Jurowski, Koopman, Alsop, Lintu, Sokhiev, Robertson, Honeck, Noseda, Fisher, Netopil. He has toured Spain with the WDR Symphony/Saraste, the US with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Neemi Järvi and Japan with the Czech Philharmonic/Bělohlávek.
A former BBC New Generation Artist, he has performed with all the BBC orchestras and made a sensational debut at the BBC Proms. In 2017, the Wiener Konzerthaus invited Hakhnazaryan to be a "Great Talent" and during the two seasons that followed he performed there regularly in recital, chamber music and with orchestra, most notably with the Wiener Symphoniker and Hrůša.
Narek's 2023/24 season is filled with exciting performances. He will embark on an American tour with Camerata Pacifica, make his debut with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at the Vienna Konzerthaus, perform with the Gran Canaria Orchestra and Karel Marek Chichon at the Auditorio Alfredo Kraus, and play Don Quixote in Aalborg. Additionally, he will continue his residency at the Wiener Konzerthaus with three concerts alongside Nikita Boriso-Glebsky and Georgy Tchaidze.
In 2017 he toured southeast Asia, performing the complete Bach cello solo suites in Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo and Kyoto. An eager chamber musician, Hakhnazaryan has performed at most major music festivals worldwide including Verbier, Aspen, Ravinia, Marlboro and in major halls across Europe with various chamber partners including Daniil Trifonov, Denis Kozhukhin, Menahem Pressler, Arnold Steinhardt, Igor Lewit, Vadim Repin, Marc Boushkov and others.
With the ZEN Trio, he has toured the US, Europe, China and Australia and released two albums on Deutsche Grammophon.
In North America he performs regularly in recitals, most recently in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto and in past seasons has performed at Carnegie Hall(New York) and Jordan Hall (Boston).
In September 2017 Narek Hakhnazaryan was awarded the title of "Honored Artist of Armenia" by the President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan.
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. Prior to this he studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexey Seleznyov and at the Sayat-Nova School of Music in Yerevan with Zareh Sarkisyan. Hakhnazaryan has received scholarships from the Rostropovich Foundation and the New Names Foundation, and his prizes include First Prize in the 2006 Aram Khachaturian International Competition in Armenia and First Place in the 2006 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players. As First Prize winner in the 2008 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Hakhnazaryan made his debut in Kennedy Centre (Washington, DC) and at Carnegie Hall (New York).
Narek Hakhnazaryan is “Larsen Strings” Artist.
