Lilit Grigoryan

A student of Maria-João Pires, pianist Lilit Grigoryan has gained recognition for her strong, assertive playing in her native Armenia, in her adopted home of Germany, and across Europe. She has made several recordings for the Orchid Classics label, among others. Grigoryan was born in the Armenian capital of Yerevan on June 24, 1985. She took up the piano at age seven, studying with Arkuhi Harutyunyan. Grigoryan attended the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan and went on to the Rostock University of Music and Drama, where she studied with Matthias Kirschnereit and graduated with the highest distinction. In 2012, she released her debut album on the Disc Auvers label, featuring works by Scarlatti, Schumann, Bartók, and Khachaturian. She continued her education as artist-in-residence at the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Belgium from 2012 to 2016, taking direction from Maria-João Pires; Pires became her mentor and collaborator. Awards, including the Tabor Piano Prize of the Verbier Academy, and support from the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, and the Keyboard Charitable Trust, among other institutions, helped Grigoryan launch her career. Grigoryan has appeared with such orchestras as the Sinfonia Varsovia, Gulbenkian Orchestra of Lisbon, and Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège. Tours have taken her to major halls, including the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and the Salle Cortot in Paris. Grigoryan is a frequent guest at festivals, including those in Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in Germany and Verbier in France. She taught for a time in Rostock and then took up residence in Berlin. Grigoryan recorded the album Gegenwelten for the Genuin label in 2017 and joined Hiyoli Togawa on Naxos for the album Romantic Viola Sonatas the following year. In addition to Pires and Togawa, Grigoryan has collaborated in chamber music performances with Sarah Christian, Andrei Ioniţă, and William Hagen. She moved to Orchid Classics, releasing several albums, including a recording of Frederic Mompou's Musica callada in 2021.
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