The Aznavoorian Sisters' first public performance was at the ages of 4 and 8 at their Armenian church in Evanston, IL. They won First Prize in the Illinois Bell Young Performers Competition, resulting in a live performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on PBS.
Since then, they have toured France, Armenia, and Finland, performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and presented countless programs in their hometown of Chicago including a major fundraiser for the Armenian earthquake in 1988. They gave a residency at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and highlights of their '24-25 season includes performances at the prestigious Ravinia Festival; tours of the West Coast from La Jolla, CA to Washington State; and concerts across the USA including Colorado and Oklahoma.
The Aznavoorian Sisters won the National Foundation for the Arts Award, leading to their appointment as Presidential Scholars in the Arts and performances at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at The White House, where Ani met President Bill Clinton and Marta met President George H. W. Bush.
They have worked with leading contemporary composers such as Lera Aerbach, Ezra Laderman, William Bolcom, Osvaldo Golijov, Shulamit Ran, Peter Boyer, Augusta Read Thomas, Stacy Garrop, Bright Sheng, Pierre Jalbert, Laura Schwendinger, Mischa Zupko, Daron Hagen, Patrick Zimmerli, Vache Sharafyan, Debra Kaye, and Colin Mathews among others.
In 2022, the Aznavoorian Sisters released their début album, Gems from Armenia, on the Cedille Label. The CD features Armenian music and a world premiere recording written for the duo by composer Peter Boyer and Vache Sharafyan. The CD has been receiving rave reviews in the press.
Marta and Ani work with many programs to help create musical training pathways for students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds. They created the Keynote Foundation, which aims to fund these students and help them achieve their full musical potential.
The Aznavoorian Sisters were honored to be selected to showcase at the Chamber Music America 2023 Conference.
Ani Aznavoorian
The Strad magazine describes cellist Ani Aznavoorian as having “scorchingly committed performances that wring every last drop of emotion out of the music. Her technique is well-nigh immaculate, she has a natural sense of theater, and her tone is astonishingly responsive.” Ani has appeared as soloist with many of the world’s leading orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Finnish Radio Symphony, the Boston Pops, and the Juilliard Orchestra. She received both her Bachelor and Master of Music Performance degrees from The Juilliard School in New York, where she studied with Aldo Parisot.
Ani Aznavoorian is an avid chamber musician, and this season marks her 18th year as principal cellist of Camerata Pacifica. She also performs regularly at the Seattle Chamber Music Society and the Jupiter Chamber Players series in NY, along with numerous other chamber music festivals around the globe. Her many accolades include being the recipient of the prestigious Bunkamura Orchard Hall Award in Tokyo, Japan for her outstanding cello playing and artistry, being named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts upon receiving a medal by President Bill Clinton, and being a prize winner of the International Paulo Cello Competition in Helsinki, Finland.
She is a proponent of new music and has expanded the cello concerto and chamber music repertoire with over three dozen commissions and world premiere performances. Highlights of her upcoming season include a tour of Germany and Slovenia, and a return performance of Dreammusik, a cello concerto written for her by Lera Auerbach. Ani records for Cedille Records and she proudly performs on a cello made by her father Peter Aznavoorian in Chicago.
Marta Aznavoorian
“A pianist of exceptionally finished technique and purity of musical impulse” (Boston Globe),
Marta Aznavoorian is known for her inspiringly spirited playing and vast emotional reach. The multi Grammy-nominated artist made her professional début at the age of 13 performing Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 with the Chicago Symphony at the invitation of Sir Georg Solti. She went on to perform with orchestras throughout the United States and abroad including the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Chicago Symphony and the New World Symphony at the invitation of Michael Tilson Thomas, who was also the conductor.
Marta has performed and recorded with violinists Joshua Bell, Philippe Quint and Stefan Milenkovich, and has appeared at some of this country's most prestigious festivals, including Ravinia, Tanglewood and Marlboro. She will perform Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue with the Boston Pops in June of 2024.
Her many awards and accolades include 1st Prize in the Stravinsky International Competition as well as the Special Prize for best interpretation of the commissioned contemporary work.
Marta has recorded extensively for the Naxos, Warner Classics and Erato labels, and has just released her 7th album on Cedille Records. She is a founding member of the GRAMMY-nominated Lincoln Trio, which Fanfare Magazine called the “hottest trio in the business.”
She is a Steinway Artist.
REVIEWS
"True artists showing great sensitivity and great virtuosity at all moments"
—Los Angeles Times
" . . . the superb playing of the Aznavoorians, who are expressive, technically poised and well blended throughout."
—chicagoclassicalreview.com
“. . . a lively and lovely program.”
—Classical Modern Music Review
“. . . in presenting an in-depth overview of the Armenian musical landscape, past and present, the Aznavoorians have done a valuable service.”
—Textura
“The most rapturously poignant album of the year so far is Gems From Armenia, by the Aznavoorian Duo . . . Sisters Ani and Marta Aznavoorian – cello and piano, respectively – draw on their heritage for a lyrical playlist of material that spans from the 19th century to the present. It underscores the disproportionately rich influence this tiny nation’s music continues to make around the globe.”
—Delarue New York Music Daily