Gareguin Aroutiounian

Gareguin Aroutiounian began playing the violin at the age of seven, giving his first recital at the age of 12, and receiving a 1st Prize in 1964, after having participated in various competitions for young musicians, thus beginning his musical solo career playing in many cities of the Soviet Union. At this time he recorded for the radio and television and presented himself throughout Russia as a soloist with symphony orchestras and chamber ensembles.

After finishing the violin course at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory he passed brilliantly the entrance exams to the Superior Conservatory Komitas in Yerevan. Aroutiounian was then invited to join the Chamber Orchestra of the State of Armenia, as second concertmaster. As a member of this orchestra, he played throughout the Soviet Union and in several foreign countries.

In 1977, Gareguin Aroutiounian was a prize winner in the 5th Musicians Interpreters of Transcaucasia Competition receiving a Special Prize for the best interpretation of the Concerto for Violin Khatchaturian. In 1976 he ended the violin course at the Komitas Conservatory, specializing as a musician-performer and chamber music teacher, and then went on to stage at the Moscow Conservatory, in the class of the famous teacher Belenky. After returning from Moscow, he prepared his PhD at the Conservatory of Yerevan, working as assistant of Professor Villi Mokastsian.

Aroutiounian was one of the founding members of the Yerevan String Quartet (1981), and this grouping chamber quickly occupied a prominent place in the Union Soviet and abroad. In 1983, the quartet participated in the prestigious competition Borodin, having been awarded the 2nd Prize. As a member of this quartet, he performed in the most important concert halls in the Soviet Union, Europe, the United States and Canada, recording for the radio and television and for the publisher Melodya.

In addition to his concert activities, he taught at the Komitas Conservatory in Yerevan, and his students received important awards. From 1989, he was invited to join the Gulbenkian Orchestra, taking the place of assistant concertmaster and as a soloist. In Portugal, he participated in many international festivals such as Estoril, Algarve, Madeira and Leiria, among others. He also dedicated himself to teaching and to chamber music.