Ara Malikian

Ara Malikian (born 1968) is a Lebanese-born violinist of Armenian descent. He was educated in Germany and was later based in Spain. He has a wide repertoire and includes music from many cuktures. He has played in over 40 countries and has won numerous prizes in international competitions. Milikian has recorded nearly 30 albums over a period of 25 years.

Malikian was born on September 14, 1968 in Beirut, Lebanon, to an Armenian family. His father was a violinist. He started playing the violin at a young age, encouraged by father, who had performed with well-known Lebanese singer Fairuz, and gave his first concert at the age of 12.

When Malikian was 14, he was invited to study at Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover in Hannover, Germany. He was the youngest student to be admitted to this school. He continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, receiving lessons from professors, Ruggiero Ricci, Ivry Gitlis, Herman Krebbers, and members of the Alban Berg Quartet.

Malikian has assimilated the music of other cultures such as those of the Middle East (Arab and Jewish), Central Europe (gipsy and Klezmer), Argentina (tango), and Spain (flamenco). In addition to his wide-ranging repertoire, he has premiered pieces from modern composers like Franco Danatoni, Malcolm Lipkin, Luciano Chailly, Ladislav Kupkovic, Loris Tjeknavorian, Lawrence Roman and Yervand Yernakian.

He has also performed solo violin recitals, with programs featuring complete cycles of the "24 Caprices" of Paganini, the "Six Sonatas" of Eugène Ysaÿe, and the "Sonatas and Partitas" of J.S. Bach.

Malikian has won first prizes in international competitions, among them "Felix Mendelssohn" (1987, Berlin, Germany) and "Pablo Sarasate" (1995, Pamplona, Spain), as well as other prizes from the competitions "Niccolo Paganini" (Genoa, Italy), "Zino Francescatti" (Marseille, France), "Rodolfo Lipizer" (Gorizia, Italy), "Jeunesses Musicales" (Belgrade, Yugoslavia), "Rameau" (Le Mans, Francia), "International Artists Guild" (New York, USA), and the "International Music Competition of Japan". In 1993, he received the "Prize for Artistic Devotion and Achievement" from the German Ministry of Culture.

He has played in more than 40 countries: USA New York (Carnegie Hall); Paris, France (Salle Pleyel); Viene, Italy (Musikverein); Toronto, Canada (Ford Center); Madrid, Spain (Auditorio Nacional and Teatro Real); Venice, Italy; Los Angeles, USA; Taipei, Taiwan; Hong Kong, China; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Cuba; Barcelona and Bilbao, Spain; among others. He has also participated in the festivals at Aspen, Colorado USA; Colmar and Prades, France; Schleswig-Holstein and Braunschweig, Germany; San Sebastián and Segovia, Spain; Bergen, Norway; Freden and Mettlach, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic, Colombia and Brazil.

As a soloist, he has been invited by the following orchestras: Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Zürich Chamber Orchestra, London Chamber Orchestra, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid, Sinfónica de Portugal (pt), Chamber Orchestra of Tübingen, Moscu Virtuosi, Belgrade Philharmonic, Toulouse Chamber Orchestra, Armenia Philharmonic and Community of Madrid Orchestra, under the direction of conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Peter Maag, Jesús López-Cobos, Vladimir Spivakov, Miguel Ángel Gómez-Martínez, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Vassili Sinaisky, Edmond de Stoutz, Gudni Emilson, Juan José Mena and JoAnn Falletta.

Milikian was the concertmaster of the Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid (resident orchestra of the Madrid Royal Opera). He played in Le Boeuf sur le Toit by D. Milhaud, in the version for violin and orchestra, under the direction of Gómez Martínez; and in the "Concerto for Violín and Orchestra in D minor" by Aram Khachaturian under the baton of Jesús López-Cobos.

Since 1995, Malikian has played in a duo with the Armenian pianist Serouj Kradjian. They recorded the complete cycle of Sonatas by Robert Schumann (Hänsler), as well as the record "Miniatures" (Malkrafon), an anthology of music for violin and piano written by Armenian composers. Malikian has also recorded numerous albums for record companies such as BMG, Auvidis, Trittico Classics and Elite Music, including "The Four Seasons" of Vivaldi, of which more than 80,000 copies were sold for UNICEF.

Malikian has maintained a close collaboration with José Luis Montón, Lebanese singer Fairuz, flamenco dancers Joaquín Cortés and Belén Maya, the Ensamble Nuevo Tango and jazz pianist Horacio Icasto. He has also worked with film-music composers such as Alberto Iglesias, with whom he recorded the soundtrack for Hable Con Ella, a movie by Almodóvar, or Pascal Gainge in Otro Barrio by the director Salvador García Ruiz.

Malikian has released two albums, "Manantial" and "De la felicidad", accompanied by flamenco guitarist José Luis Montón. This last was nominated by the Spanish Academy of Music for best New Music CD of the year. Malikian recorded a double CD of Paganini for Warner Bros. including his "24 Caprices for Violin Solo"; an album of compositions by Sarasate accompanied by Armenian pianist Serouj Kradjian; the "Six Sonatas" for violin by Ysaÿe; and the "Sonatas and Partitas" by J. S. Bach.

Malikian was nominated twice for best classical performance in the 2007 Music Prizes in Spain by the Spanish Academy for his recording of the Poema Concertante by Xavier Montsalvatge with the Castilla y León Symphonic Orchestra; as well as for a piece with Joan Valent, Suso Sáiz and Marc Blanes.

He participated as a guest artist in the film J: Beyond Flamenco, by Carlos Saura (2016).

Malikian married in 2018 Natalia Moreno. They live in Madrid and have one child, Kairo.