At present, the Armenian piano-performing school is very famous not only for famous Armenian names but also for the quality and professionalism of the pianists.
One can endlessly talk about musicians of Armenian origin, and touch upon topics related to the activities of the most prominent Armenian pianists of the past and our time.
These musicians come from large cities of Transcaucasia, where they received their primary musical education. In the future, they continued their education and improved their skills in major musical centers in Western Europe, America, Russia, and many other major countries of the world. The fate of these musicians was different. Some of them remained abroad and, being active in concert activities, made a significant contribution to the culture of different countries.
The Armenian Genocide in the Ottoman Empire (now Turkey) in 1915 left a very big impact, as a result of which many found their refuge, creating a cultural diaspora.
The first famous pianists of Armenian origin were Karol Mikuli and Stéphan Elmas. Both of them were from western Armenia. Karol Mikuli was connected to Armenia by the deep roots of the family pedigree, and Stefan Elmas — by the place of birth and the years of childhood and adolescence. Having received an excellent education, they settled in European cities and gained great fame and respect in the music world with their versatile fruitful activities.
Karol Mikuli made a significant contribution to the history of European pianism, and to the musical culture of several Eastern European countries and was a student of the Polish composer and pianist of French origin Frédéric Chopin.
The creative activity of other pianists proceeded in the cities of Russia, although it retained ties with various spheres of Armenian musical culture. Most of these musicians later returned to their native Armenia and devoted all their efforts to the formation and development of national piano art.
Our public first got acquainted with the creative activity of most of these musicians through the publication of magazine and newspaper articles by the Armenian musicologist, pianist, teacher, and professor at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan — Shushanik Apoyan.
Thanks to dozens of books by musicologists, teachers, and pianists, in our time, we can learn about the history of Armenian performing piano art, learn about great performers, and learn about the techniques of these great pianists. In addition to the fantastic work of Shushanik Apoyan, such significant people as Shushanik Babayan, Armen Budaghyan, Sahenik Maghakyan, Mikhail Kokzhaev, Irina Zolotova, Gohar Shagoyan continue to play a huge role in the promotion of the Armenian Piano Performing School.
Based on Shushanik Apoyan’s book Unforgettable Names (essays on Armenian pianists, published by Yerevan State Conservatory, Yerevan 2008), I would like to be faithful to the title of the book and present the unforgettable names of Armenian pianists and teachers of the past. Many of which are not Armenian origin, certainly left a mark on the Armenian Piano Performing School. Of course, we need to emphasize once again the name of Sahenik Maghakyan, the author of the book Accompanists of Armenia (essays on Armenian pianists-accompanists, published by Lusakn Publishing House, Yerevan 2018), from which our readers will find many names on this site.