By Ara Arakelian
BOSTON, Mass.—Narek Hakhnazaryan, the young cellist who made an impressive debut with the Boston Pops Orchestra at the Armenian Night at the Pops earlier this year, will appear in a recital at the elegant Tapestry Room of the Isabella Gardner Museum in Boston. The September 27 (1:30 p.m.) concert is part of the museum’s Sunday Concert Series. Mr. Hakhnazaryan and his collaborative pianist, Noreen Polera, will perform Schumann’s Fantasiestuke; Beethoven’s Sonata for piano and cello in A-Major; Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise; a seldom heard work by the legendary cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, as well as the great D-minor sonata by Dmitri Shostakovich.
Currently an Artist Diploma Candidate at the New England Conservatory of Music, Mr. Hakhnazaryan is the winner of the 2008 coveted Young Concert Artists International Auditions. In October of 2008 he made his debuts in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in New York and in Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater in Washington, DC, to critical acclaim. “He produces powerful and colorful sound in all registers, and flashes all the virtuoso’s tricks with insolent ease…” wrote The Washington Post, while The New York Times praised his “intense focus and expressive artistry.”
Mr. Hakhnazaryan is also the laureate of several international competitions, including First Prize in the 2006 Aram Khachaturian International Competition, First Prize in the 2006 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players, and Fifth Prize at the 2007 Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. He has received scholarships from the Rostropovich Russian Performing Arts Fund and has performed in Russia, Germany, Italy, Austria, France, Great Britain, Greece and Canada.
Born into a family of musicians – his father is a violinist and his mother a pianist –
Mr. Hakhnazaryan attended the Sayat-Nova School of Music, studying with Zareh Sarkisyan. At the age of 12, he began his studies at the Moscow Conservatory of Music with Alexey Seleznyov.
Tickets for this concert can be obtained from the Gardner Museum Box Office (617-278-5156), or by visiting www.gardnermuseum.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the front entrance of the Gardner Museum, 280 The Fenway.
Narek has made quite an impression on the classical music world, he can also play many contemporary pieces as well as composition of creative movements.