Hrachya Harutyunyan Armenian violinist and music teacher. Country: Armenia

Biography of Grachya Arutyunyan

Grachya Arutyunyan is an Armenian violinist and music educator. He received his initial musical education in Yerevan under the guidance of V. G. Kurginyan. At the age of 11, he was awarded the first prize at the "Little Violin" competition and made his debut as a soloist with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of the Armenian SSR. In 1981, he won the first prize and gold medal at the VI Transcaucasian Competition of Performing Musicians.

Arutyunyan studied at the Yerevan Conservatory under Grachya Bogdanyan, and from 1982 onwards, he continued his studies at the Moscow State Conservatory named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, in the class of B. V. Belenky. He then completed his postgraduate studies at the conservatory under the guidance of Victor Tretiakov. Arutyunyan is a laureate of several international competitions.

In 1989, Arutyunyan was invited by Yehudi Menuhin to become his assistant at the Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland, where he began his teaching career. He performed together with Menuhin in various countries in Europe, North and South America. As an ensemble player, from 1994 to 1996, he performed as part of a trio with pianist Anait Nersesian and violist Yakov Papyan.

Since 1991, Grachya Arutyunyan has been living and working in Germany. In 1993, he participated in a competition for the position of concertmaster of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, upon invitation from Sergiu Celibidache. Arutyunyan won the competition, which had 128 applicants. He also won the competition for the position of concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, allegedly becoming the first unanimous choice in the orchestra's 115-year history. Arutyunyan's orchestral career concluded as the first concertmaster of the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, a position he held from 1997. He then decided to step away from orchestral work in order to focus more on his pedagogical activities.

In 1995, Arutyunyan opened his first music school in Germany - the Crescendo Violinschule für professionelle Musiker, with branches in Berlin, Munich, Cologne, and Neustadt. Since 1999, he has been conducting annual international masterclasses in Neustadt. Additionally, since 2000, Grachya Arutyunyan has been a professor at the Yerevan State Conservatory named after Komitas. Since 2005, he has been working on technologies for his latest project - the International Music Academy, where education is exclusively conducted online.