Armen-Levon

Armen-Levon Manaseryan is an Armenian concert pianist, multiple prize-winner at international piano competitions, recording artist, musical illustrator, and President of the Armenian Pianists Association. His artistic profile combines a broad repertoire of European classical piano music with a strong commitment to Armenian piano music, chamber music, contemporary composers, and innovative approaches to concert presentation.

Born in Yerevan into a musical family, Manaseryan showed musical talent from an early age and, at six, was accepted into Professor Shushanik Babayan’s piano class at the Tchaikovsky Specialized Music School. Three major European piano traditions subsequently shaped his artistic formation. He studied Piano Performance at the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan with Professor Sergey Saradjian, continued at the Royal Conservatory of Liège in Belgium with Professors Etienne Rappe and François Thiry, and completed his studies in Germany at the Musikhochschule Münsterwith Professor Heribert Koch. The Russian, French, and German piano traditions are reflected in the character of his interpretations.

A multiple prize-winner at international piano competitions and recipient of numerous medals and awards, Manaseryan has performed and participated in prestigious festivals and competitions throughout Europe and beyond, including in Armenia, Belgium, Germany, France, Austria, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Poland, Malta, Portugal, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and other countries. In 2021, he was awarded the Order of Preservation of the Armenian Nation by the Cultural Armenia Foundation.

His international festival appearances include the International Summer Academy at Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg, Monheimer Beethovenfest, Monheimer Klaviersommer, the Hammerklavier International Festival in Barcelona, Festival de Música de Sant Pere de Rodes in Girona, Music of Europe: Armenia at the Sofia Philharmonic, Musikfestival Burg Ramsdorf, Palazzo Ricci – Europäische Akademie für Musik und darstellende Kunst Montepulciano, Festival Sphèramusic, Bonner Schumannfest, the concert series at Cappella Villa Duria, and the VII Festival of Armenian Contemporary Composers, among others.

Manaseryan’s repertoire spans a broad range of European classical piano literature alongside a strong and sustained engagement with Armenian piano music, including works by established and living Armenian composers. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed and premiered works with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Armenian National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, the Hover State Chamber Choir, and the Rheinbogen string ensemble.

Chamber music occupies an important place in his artistic activities. Through his Manaseryan Duo projects and other collaborations, he works with different pianists and instrumentalists in formations ranging from four-hand and six-hand piano ensembles to chamber music with other instruments. His collaborations also include numerous living composers who compose, dedicate works, and create arrangements especially for Manaseryan and the ensembles in which he performs.

Manaseryan is an active recording artist. His debut solo album, Color Of Sound, was released by KNS Classical and features Komitas Vardapet’s Piano Dances and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, accompanied by ten original illustrations by Manaseryan inspired by the music. He also participated in SUSTAIN VOL. 3, released by the American label Navona Records, the parent label of PARMA Recordings, recording Variations on a Theme by Bach by Grammy-nominated composer Hayg Boyadjian. His second solo project, Visible Music, released by KNS Classical, combines Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, Op. 37a with Beethoven’s 32 Variations in C minor, WoO 80, with twelve original illustrations by Manaseryan featured in the CD booklet.

The relationship between sound and visual art has become a defining element of Manaseryan’s artistic identity. He has created three large-scale visual-music projects: Color Of Sound, with ten illustrations inspired by Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition; Visible Music, with twelve illustrations inspired by Tchaikovsky’s The Seasons, Op. 37a; and a third project based on Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suites, Op. 46 and Op. 55, featuring illustrations inspired by Grieg’s music and Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. He frequently presents these projects as concert-exhibitions, bringing together live piano performance and visual art in a distinctive concert format.

Alongside his performing and recording career, Manaseryan is active in cultural and educational initiatives. He founded and served as artistic director of the VITRAGE International Festival in Brussels from 2016 to 2018 and founded the Art Next To Kids charity art project for children with special needs and autism. In 2023, he founded the Armenian Pianists Association NGO, a networking platform for Armenian pianists from around the world.

Manaseryan is a permanent Jury Member of the Music and Stars Awards, an online edition of the Classical Music International Competition, and has served as a Jury Member of the Arno Babajanyan International Piano Competition in Yerevan and the Merci, Maestro! International Competition for Young Pianists in Brussels. He regularly gives master classes worldwide and maintains piano classes both in Cologne and Bonn, Germany, and in Yerevan, Armenia.