Armen Babakhanian is an Armenian pianist.
He received prizes at the Leeds (5th prize), Van Cliburn (3rd prize), and Gina Bachauer (2nd prize) competitions. His performance of Dmitri Shostakovich's Piano Quintet along with the Takács Quartet at the XIII Paloma O'Shea Competition earned him the Chamber Music award. These awards launched an intense international concert career. He's a member of the Cadence ensemble.The Cadence ensemble is noticeable for performing famous Argentine tango composer Astor Piazzolla's music.
On May 26, 2008 Babakhanian was distinguished a Merited Artist of Armenia. Days before he had been awarded the Strengthening Cultural Ties Between Armenia and Diaspora Golden Medal from the Ministry of Culture.
Armen has given recitals in the USA, Canada, Japan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria, Italy, France and Spain. He has appeared as soloist with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under Sir Simon Rattle, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Boston Pops Orchestra, Irish National Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra ( USA), Dallas Symphony, with Saint Petersburg Philharmonic under Yuri Temirkanov, with Moscow Philharmonic under Valery Gergiev and the Israel Philharmonic.
Festival appearances include the Aspen, Interlochen, Santander and Baalbec music festivals. Babakhanian's performance of the Shostakovich Piano Quintet with the Takács Quartet during Santander Festival in Spain was named the best chamber music performance of the festival. He has recorded for the ASV and Real Sound labels and his performances have been broadcast on BBC, PBS (USA), ORF (Austria) and RAI (Italy) television networks. His recent recording of the Tchaikovsky piano sonatas has received rave reviews in the European press.
In 1999, he founded and served as Artistic Director for the Armenian Legacy International Piano Competition in Yerevan, Armenia. He has taught numerous master-classes in Russia, United Kingdom, Spain, Japan and the United States. He is currently an Artist-in-Residence at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, where he also received his musical education.
During the 2001/2002 season, Armen Babakhanian appeared in concerts in 17 cities in Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia and Finland. He also he had a concert tour in France which included a recital in Lyon's famed Salle De Molliere.
During 2003/2004 and 2004/2005 seasons, Mr. Babakhanian performed in Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Russia, USA, China, Lebanon, Syria, Japan, Israel, Lithuania and Argentina.
Armen Babakhanian has been appointed the Artistic Director of Yerevan International Piano Competition to be held in April–May 2007.
Has more than 15 CD productions.