Narek Hakhnazaryan

Cello Soloist

“What really distinguishes his playing is its effect on the listener. There is an immediate connection between his cello playing and those lucky enough to be in the audience. It’s that personal connection, that passion and musical charisma, that not only wins competitions, but people’s hearts as well.”

The Boston Musical Intelligencer

Larsen Strings for Cello

About Narek 

Since winning the First Prize and Gold Medal at the XIV International Tchaikovsky Competition at the age of 22, Narek Hakhnazaryan has performed with most major orchestras and in recital and chamber music across the globe at the world’s most prestigious festivals and venues. He has been described as “Dazzlingly Brilliant” (The Strad) and “Nothing short of magnificent” (San Francisco Chronicle), and of his LAPO debut, the Los Angeles Times said “His command of the instrument is extraordinary”.

“Hakhnazaryan’s performance was nothing short of magnificent…He’s an artist to watch out for.”

San Francisco Chronicle

Narek Hakhnazaryan Cellist

Narek Hakhnazaryan has been awarded the title of “Honored Artist of Armenia” and an honorable “Movses Khorenatsi” medal for “Outstanding Achievements in The Field of Culture” by the president of Armenia.

Hakhnazaryan has been enjoying truly global career playing with orchestras such as the Chicago Symphony, LA Philharmonic, Pittsburgh Symphony, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, Berlin Konzerthaus, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Finnish Radio, Helsinki Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, Sydney Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, NHK Symphony orchestras, and with conductors such as Gergiev, Jurowski, Koopman, Alsop, Lintu, Sokhiev, Robertson, Honeck, Noseda, Fisher, Netopil and others. He has toured Spain with the WDR Symphony/Saraste, the US with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra/Neemi Järvi and Japan with the Czech Philharmonic/Bělohlávek. A former BBC New Generation Artist, he has performed with all the BBC orchestras and made a sensational debut at the BBC Proms. In 2017, the Wiener Konzerthaus invited Hakhnazaryan to be a “Great Talent” and during the two seasons that followed he performed there regularly in recital, chamber music and with orchestras, most notably with the Wiener Symphoniker and Hrůša. Recently Hakhnazaryan toured southeast Asia, performing the complete Bach cello solo suites in Taipei, Seoul, Tokyo and Kyoto. An eager chamber musician, Hakhnazaryan has performed at most major music festivals worldwide including Verbier, Aspen, Ravinia, Marlboro and in major halls across the world with various chamber partners including Daniil Trifonov, Denis Kozhukhin, Menahem Pressler, Arnold Steinhardt, Igor Lewit, Vadim Repin, Marc Boushkov and others.

Together with the violinist Esther Yoo and pianist Zhang Zuo Hakhnazaryan created the Z.E.N. Trio and has toured across the US, Europe, China and Australia. They released two albums exclusively on Deutsche Grammophon.

“I have been ‘Strings Wonderer’ for many years, jumping from one combination of strings to another, trying different brands in search for the perfect fit for me. But when I discovered the Larsen Strings universe for the first time I knew right away that the competition was over. Since that moment I have been playing exclusively on Larsen Strings.

For me as a musician who constantly performs around the world they are the perfect combination of beauty, power and reliability.”

Narek Hakhnazaryan

In North America Hakhnazaryan performs regularly with orchestras and in recitals, most recently in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Toronto and in past seasons has performed at Carnegie Hall(New York), Kennedy Center(Washington DC) and Jordan Hall (Boston). As a curious musician and artist, Hakhnazaryan recently made his debut as a conductor in Hamburg’s Leizhalle with Neue Philharmonie Hamburg and conducted highly successful production of Gluck’s opera “Orpheus and Eurydice” in Armenia.

Mentored by the late Rostropovich, Hakhnazaryan received an Artist Diploma from the New England Conservatory of Music in 2011 where he studied with Lawrence Lesser. Prior to this he studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Alexey Seleznyov and at the Sayat-Nova School of Music in Yerevan with Zareh Sarkisyan. Hakhnazaryan’s prizes include First Prize in the 2006 Aram Khachaturian International Competition in Armenia and First Prize in the 2006 Johansen International Competition for Young String Players. As First Prize winner in the 2008 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Hakhnazaryan made his debut in Kennedy Centre (Washington, DC) and at Carnegie Hall (New York) at the age of 19.

Narek Hakhnazaryan is “Larsen Strings” Artist. Images © Narek Hakhnazaryan


Narek Hakhnazaryan made his debut in Kennedy Centre (Washington, DC) and at Carnegie Hall (New York) at the age of 19.


Narek Hakhnazaryan Larsen Strings

Narek Hakhnazaryan

Edward Elgar’s Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra in E minor, Op. 85. Presented as part of the Wiener Konzerthaus’ “Great Talent” funding program. Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Jakub Hrůša, conductor.

Narek Hakhnazaryan

Please visit narekhakhnazaryan.com to find out more about the artist including forthcoming events and an extensive portfolio of images, videos and recorded audio.

Narek Hakhnazaryan Website

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