Hrachya Avanesyan burst onto the international stage by winning the Yehudi Menuhin and Carl Nielsen competitions. Since then, he has pursued a career that has taken him to major concert halls and seen him perform alongside numerous renowned orchestras and musicians. Gramophone magazine praises him as “a musician of exceptional sensitivity and great expressive finesse,” while the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung highlights the “passion, warmth, and lyrical beauty” of his playing.
He has appeared as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as Sinfonia Varsovia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Orchestre National de Lille, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with conductors including Eliahu Inbal, Walter Weller, Augustin Dumay, Joshua Weilerstein, Aziz Shokhakimov, and Alain Altinoglu.
Throughout his career, Hrachya Avanesyan has been a regular guest at some of the world’s leading concert halls, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, and Bozar in Brussels. Chamber music has always played a vital role in his artistic journey, and he has performed alongside musicians such as Maria João Pires, Natalia Gutman, Enrico Pace, Maxim Rysanov, and Diemut Poppen at numerous festivals worldwide.
His discography reflects the diversity of his artistic path. Notable recordings include Vieuxtemps’ Violin Concerto No. 2 with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, as well as an album dedicated to Dvořák, recorded with Sinfonia Varsovia under the baton of Augustin Dumay. His chamber music recording dedicated to Schumann and Brahms, released by BIS Records, has been warmly acclaimed by critics, while a filmed recital with Maria João Pires has brought his artistry to an international audience.
Born in Armenia, he moved to Belgium at the age of seventeen to study with Igor Oistrakh at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. He went on to further his training at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel under Augustin Dumay, and subsequently at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne in the class of Mihaela Martin. His development as a chamber musician was also enriched by his work with the Artemis Quartet.
Alongside his career as a concert artist, Hrachya Avanesyan is increasingly active in teaching. He is regularly invited to give masterclasses and serve on the juries of international competitions, passing on the legacy of the great violin schools that shaped his own musical journey.
He plays a violin made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in 1864.