MARTA AZNAVOORIAN piano

“A pianist of exceptionally finished technique and purity of musical impulse” —Boston Globe

Armenian/American Pianist Marta Aznavoorian is known for her inspiringly spirited playing and vast emotional reach. The multi-Grammy-nominated artist has performed to critical acclaim
throughout the world as an orchestral soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. She made her professional debut at the age of 13, performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 24, K 491 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under the invitation of Sir George Solti. She then went on to engage with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad, including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Chicago Symphony, and many others, including an engagement with the New World Symphony as a result of an invitation from Michael Tilson Thomas, who was also the conductor.

Aznavoorian has many awards and accolades, including First prize in the Stravinsky International Competition and the special prize for best interpretation of the commissioned contemporary work. As a recipient of the Level 1 award in the National Foundation of the Artstalent search, Aznavoorian became a Presidential Scholar and was invited to the White House, where she met former President George H.W. Bush and performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. With her expressive energy and originality she brings to new and traditional classical music, Aznavoorian has recorded extensively for Naxos, Warner Classics, and Erato, and has just released her 7th album under the record label, Cedille Records. Aznavoorian is a founding member of the Grammy-nominated Lincoln Trio, which Fanfare Magazine has labeled as the “hottest Trio in the business”. Aznavoorian also performs extensively with violinist Stefan Milenkovich and her sister, cellist Ani Aznavoorian. The Aznavoorian sister Duo is set to release their debut album in 2022 called “Veiled Mountain: Gems from Armenia” for Cedille Records. A champion and lover of contemporary music, she has recorded music and premieres by the world's leading composers of our time, including: William Bolcom, Osvaldo Golijov, Augusta Read Thomas, Shulamit Ran, Stacy Garrop, JoanTower, and Jennifer Higdon, among others.

A student of the renowned teacher Menahem Pressler, Aznavoorian received her Bachelor's Degree and Artist Diploma at Indiana University and her Master's Degree from New England Conservatory. As a dedicated educator and philanthropist, she gives lessons and masterclasses across the United States and abroad and is on faculty at DePaul University and the Music Institute of Chicago, where she is also an Artist in Residence. Aznavoorian works with many programs to help create training pathways for students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Her new foundation aims to help fund these students and help them achieve their full musical potential. Marta Aznavoorian is a Steinway Artist.

For more information, please visit martaaznavoorian.com

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BEN SOLOMONOW cello

Cellist Ben Solomonow has gained recognition for his “passionate and accurate” performances — “excellent throughout” (Henry Fogel, Fanfare), and has forged a multifaceted career as a soloist, chamber musician, orchestral player, and recording artist whose performances have taken him to major concert halls and festivals across North America, Europe, and Asia. A prize winner of the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, he has been featured on NPR and WFMT and has appeared as soloist at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Ravinia, and the Seoul Arts Center. 

A devoted chamber musician, Solomonow has collaborated with many of today’s leading artists, including Mitsuko Uchida, Emanuel Ax, Gary Hoffman, Josef Silverstein, Miriam Fried, Roberto Diaz, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Meng-Chieh Liu, Hsin-Yun Huang, Vadim Gluzman, Anton Nel, Atar Arad, Rami Solomonow, and members of the Tokyo, Vermeer, Juilliard, Borromeo, Brentano, Cleveland, Calidore, and Pacifica Quartets. His festival appearances include return visits to the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia Music Festival, Ojai Music Festival, Festival Mozaic, North Shore Chamber Music Festival, Red Rocks Chamber Music Festival, and performances with the Chicago Chamber Musicians. 

Recent concerto highlights include performances with the Pacific Symphony under Carl St. Clair and the Colburn Orchestra under Xian Zhang. His latest album collaboration is on Visions and Dreams with members of the ensemble Art of Elan on Phenotypic Records, comprising entirely of music by today’s most innovative and sought-after composers. He is also featured on Shapeshifter, a Delos Records recording devoted to the music of Erwin Schulhoff. The album seeks to bring renewed attention to Schulhoff’s compositions, a body of work that was suppressed by the events of the Second World War, and was selected by Alex Ross of The New Yorker for one of his preferred listening playlists. 

Solomonow holds degrees from the Colburn Conservatory of Music and the University of Southern California, where his principal teachers were Clive Greensmith, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Gary Hoffman. Other notable mentors have included Hans Jensen and Arnold Steinhardt. 

A Stradivari Society Artist, Solomonow performs on an 1898 Vincenzo Postiglione cello generously loaned by the Stradivari Society of Chicago. 

For more information, please visit bensolomonow.com