Avedis Kouyoumdjian, piano

Born in Beirut, Lebanon to a family of Armenian descent, Professor Avo Kouyoumdjian began his studies when he was 12 years old at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He was the youngest student at the time majoring in piano performance. At the University he studied with Professor Dieter Weber, Noel Flores, Alexander Jenner and Georg Ebert. He continued his postgraduate work with Djanko Iliev, Stanislaw Neuhaus and Alica Kezeradze.

His career as an artist performer, professor, director, and administrator is marked by the many accomplishments he has achieved in the field of music since he won the first prize at the Sixth International Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1981. Since then he has performed in well-renowned concert halls in Europe, the United States, Canada and Japan. He has been a soloist with well-renowned orchestras around the world and taken part in many different festivals. He is a sought-out juror in major international competitions in addition to conducting masterclasses in many universities in Europe and Japan.

His recordings well demonstrate his artistry as a pianist and a chamber musician. In 1997, he was appointed Professor of Piano and Chamber Music in the Keyboard Department at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna where he began his pedagogical career as an assistant professor in 1987. since 2010 he was appointed Dean of Performance and instrumental Studies and is the initiator and founder of the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in the same University. In 2002 he became the co-founder/ director of the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Institute of the University. From 2004 to 2008, he has been the Artistic Director at the “piano a St. Ursanne” festival in Switzerland. Since 2016, he is now Master in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel.