Sergei Babayan
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Sergei Babayan (born in Guimri, Armenia) is a classical pianist.
He began his musical studies at age six with Luisa Markaryan. He studied under Lev Naumov and at the Moscow Conservatory under Michel Pletnev. In 1989 Babayan travelled to the United States. That same year he won first prize in the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition. After he won first prize in the Palm Beach International Piano Competition and first prize in the Hamamatsu Competition, he became a Laureate of the Queen Elizabeth International Piano Competition. He won first prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition and third prize at the Busoni International Piano Competition. He was a prize winner at the Esther Honens International Piano Competition.
His programming often includes modern works by composers such as Lutoslawsky, Ligeti and Arvo Pärt. He frequently appears as a soloist with such orchestras as The National Orchestra of Belgium, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Italian Symphony Orchestra of Brescia & Bergamo, and the Czech State Philharmonic.
He has collaborated with such conductors as Yuri Temirkanov, Neeme Jarvi, Hans Graf, David Robertson, Kazimierz Kord and Michael Christi. He has recorded with the Connoisseur Society label, Discover Records and Pro Piano Records.
In 1996, Babayan founded the Sergei Babayan International Piano Academy at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he is also an Artist-in-Residence.
