Dertig jaar geleden: Alexander Chaushian bij de AVRO

Alexander Chaushian was een Armeens cellist, winnaar van de Muziekprijs 1993. Toen voerde hij samen met het Radio Kamerorkest o.l.v. Roland Kieft het eerste celloconcerto van Saint-Saëns en als toegift een sarabande en een gigue uit de tweede cellosuite van Bach uit op de AVRO-televisie op 22/07/1993. Hij was toen pas veertien jaar en student op de Yehudi Menuhin School in Londen (bovenstaande foto). Zijn grootvader (met dezelfde naam) was zijn eerste leraar, maar die was in 1992 al overleden.

 After studying at the Yehudi Menuhin School with Melissa Phelps, he went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama where from 1995-1999 he studied with Oleg Kogan.

From 2000-2002 he held a fellowship at the Royal Academy of Music as a member of the Kempf trio. In 2003 he pursued advanced studies at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin with the late Boris Pergamenschikiow and later with David Geringas, graduating with distinction in 2005.

Alexander’s long list of prizes include First Prize in the Premio Mozart Competition in Verona, First Prize in the International Music Competition in Holland, the Guilhermina Suggia Gift in London on three occasions, the Orchestra of New England Soloist Prize and First Prize for the Young Concert Artists in New York. He was the joint recipient of the Pierre Fournier Award, and was awarded Third Prize in the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and at the ARD international Competition in Munich.

Alexander Chaushian has performed with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the London Mozart Players, the Academy of St Martin-in-the-Fields, the Philharmonia and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Royal National Orchestra of Belgium, the Boston Pops and the Armenian Philharmonic orchestras.

Alexander has collaborated with many distinguished musicians such as Levon Chilingirian, Dimitri Sitkovetsky, Christoph Poppen, David Geringas, Yuri Bashmet and Gidon Kremer.

From 2002 until the present day he has acted as artistic director of the Orpheus and Bacchus Festival in Bordeaux, The Pharos Trust festival in Cyprus and Yerevan international Music Festival in Armenia.