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 cultures. He has played in over 40 countries and has won numerous prizes in international competitions. Malikian has recorded nearly 30 albums over a period of 25 years.

Biography

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 his father, who had performed with established Lebanese singer Fairuz, the "Six Sonatas" of Eugène Ysaÿe, and the "Sonatas and Partitas" of J.S. Bach.

Malikian 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 performed as 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. De la felicidad 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 has been 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).

Private life

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

Discography Albums 1995: Le quattro stagioni 1996: 750 Jahre Wölpinghausen 1996: Miniatures 1997: Bow on the String 1999: 500 motivaciones 2000: All Seasons for Different 2000: Robert Schumann 2002/2004: Manantial 2003: 24 Caprices for Solo Violin by Paganini 2003: Sarasate 2003: Six Sonatas for Solo Violin by Ysaÿe 2003: Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin by Bach 2004: El arte del violín 2004: The Four Seasons by Vivaldi 2005: De la felicidad 2005: De los Cobos / Montsalvatge 2006: Tears of Beauty 2007: Meeting with a friend 2007: Lejos 2010: Conciertos románticos españoles de violín (Orquesta sinfónica de Castilla & León-Alejandro Posada & Ara Malikian) 2011: Con los ojos cerrados (Ara Malikian & Fernando Egozcue Quinteto) 2011: Christmas mood 2013: Pizzicato 2015: 15 2016: The Incredible Story of Violin 2017: Symphonic at Las Ventas (Live) 2019: Royal garage

As guest artist 2006: Insula poética En Son Brull 2008: La ley innata Extremoduro 2011: Material defectuoso Extremoduro 2011: Krasivuye glazha Huecco 2013: Para todos los públicos Extremoduro 2019: Ira Dei Mägo de Oz

Soundtracks 1999: Manolito Gafotas – Directed by Miguel Albaladejo 2000: El otro barrio – Directed by Salvador García Ruiz 2001: Los pasos perdidos – Directed by Manane Rodríguez 2002: Hable con ella⁣ – Directed by Pedro Almodóvar 2005: La mala educación – Directed by Pedro Almodóvar 2006: Ecos – Directed by Estefanía Muñiz 2010: Pájaros de papel – Directed by Emilio Aragón 2016: J: Beyond Flamenco – Directed by Carlos Saura 2016: The Promise – Directed by Terry George