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Hayk Melikyan

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Hayk Melikyan
Hayk Melikyan playing Arvo Pärt's Lamentate for piano and orchestra. Armenian premiere with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Ruben Asatryan. 16.11.2018
Hayk Melikyan playing Arvo Pärt's Lamentate for piano and orchestra. Armenian premiere with the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Ruben Asatryan. 16.11.2018
Background information
Born (1980-11-29) November 29, 1980 (age 45)
Yerevan, Armenian SSR, USSR
GenresClassical
OccupationPianist
InstrumentPiano

Hayk Melikyan (Armenian: Հայկ Մելիքյան; born November 29, 1980, in Yerevan) is an Armenian pianist and composer. He is widely known as one of the best performers of 20th century and contemporary classical music.[1]

Life and career

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Melikyan was born in Yerevan. He is the grandson of renowned poet, translator and publicist Sokrat Khanyan.

He started playing piano when he was six with Irina Grishinskaya. Later he continued his professional studies with Professor Alexander Gurgenov at the Yerevan Komitas Conservatory, where he also studied composition with Vartan Adjemian. Hayk Melikyan’s international concert début took place at the Concerto di Concerti International Festival of the 20th Century Music in Rome in 2000.

Melikyan regularly performs on prestigious stages of the world including Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium (Lisbon),[2] Victoria Hall (Geneva),[3] Megaron (Athens), etc.

In 2009, Hayk Melikyan initiated a series of concerts called 1900+, dedicated to 20th-century and contemporary world piano music. In 2020, Hayk Melikyan launched a new initiative named 2000+, which aims to propagate the music of exclusively our time.[4]

Melikyan’s compositional catalogue includes solo piano, chamber, vocal, and symphonic works, alongside piano transcriptions, concert paraphrases, and arrangements. His music is published by BabelScores.

Discography

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By AZURE SKY Records:

By NAXOS Records:

Awards

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  • IBLA Grand Prize International Piano Competition: Special prize (Ragusa, Italy, 1999).
  • Valentino Bucchi International Piano Competition of Twentieth Century and Contemporary Music: 2nd prize (Rome, Italy, 2000).
  • Yvar Mikhashoff Trust for New Music (Buffalo, United States, 2012).
  • Orléans International Piano Competition: Samson François prize (Orléans, France, 2008).
  • Lazar Saryan Composers Competition: 1st prize (Yerevan, Armenia, 2008).
  • Orléans International Piano Competition: André Boucourechliev prize (Orléans, France, 2012).
  • Gold Medal of Moscow Composers Union: for his contribution and promotion of the World Contemporary Music (Moscow, Russia, 2012).
  • Honorary Artist of Armenia (2013) on the occasion of the Republic Day.[11]
  • Hayk Melikyan's solo album «Arutiuanian: Complete Piano Works» by NAXOS Grand Piano label was selected as The Best Classical Music Album of the Year within the Swallow Music Awards (2018).
  • In 2024, Hayk Melikyan was honored with the Golden Medal of the Armenian Ministry of Science, Education, Culture, and Sports upon the 15th anniversary of 1900+.
  • Movses Khorenatsi Medal (2025) on the occasion of Independence Day, for outstanding services to the fatherland and dedication.[12]

Quotes

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Hayk Melikyan has power and agility to spare, with plenty of attention to inner voicings. He is never at a loss for style or direction in any of this music, which is pretty impressive when you consider that it really represents two very different styles.

  • Maureen Buja (Interlude.hk):[14]

Melikyan, in his performance, adds elements of free improvisation, expressing in a unique way everything that Bach brought to music.

Hayk Melikyan is a Musical Hero for his promotion of contemporary music.

References

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  1. ^ "Grand Piano Records. Hayk Melikyan". www.grandpianorecords.com. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  2. ^ Hayk Melikyan, pianist, Hayk Melikyan at Gulbenkian Grand Auditorium (Lisbon), archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-02-08
  3. ^ Hayk Melikyan, pianist, Edgar Moreau & Hayk Melikyan play Franck Sonata op.36 (Extract), archived from the original on 2021-12-21, retrieved 2019-02-08
  4. ^ "1900+ World Piano Music Concerts Series of the 20th Century and Contemporary Music".
  5. ^ "BAROQUE + FORTH, BAROQUE MASTERPIECES TRANSCRIBED FOR SOLO PIANO, Hayk Melikyan". www.azureskyrecords.com. Retrieved 2026-01-17.
  6. ^ "GEORGE GURDJIEFF AND THOMAS DE HARTMANN, LAUDAMUS, SECULAR & SACRED PIANO WORKS, Hayk Melikyan". www.azureskyrecords.com. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  7. ^ "BACH + FORTH, SACRED & SECULAR KEYBOARD TRANSCRIPTIONS, BRAHMS • BUSONI • KEMPFF • MELIKYAN • SILOTI, Hayk Melikyan". www.azureskyrecords.com. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  8. ^ "Piano Music (Armenian) - CHEBOTARIAN, G. / CHITCHIAN, G. / DELLALIAN, H. / MANSURYAN, T.Y. / MIRZOIAN, E.M. / SARYAN, L. (Armenian Palette) (Melikyan)". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  9. ^ "ARUTIUNIAN, A.: Piano Works (Complete) (Melikyan)". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  10. ^ "BABADJANIAN, A.H.: Piano Solo Works (Complete) (Melikyan)". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
  11. ^ "Decrees of the President of Armenia". www.president.am (in Armenian). Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  12. ^ "Decrees of the President of Armenia". www.president.am (in Armenian). Retrieved 2025-09-21.
  13. ^ "Naxos Classical Music - Naxos Album Reviews". www.naxos.com. Retrieved 2019-02-08.
  14. ^ "Playing with Bach: Hayk Melikyan and Bach and Forth". interlude.hk. Retrieved 2025-10-23.
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