Mikayel Hakhnazaryan

Cellist Mikayel Hakhnazaryan is known as a versatile musician in the world of classical music, primarily as a member of the Kuss Quartet, with which he has been performing worldwide for more than fifteen years. He has played in concert halls such as the Philharmonie Berlin, Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), Musikverein (Vienna), and at festivals including the Rheingau Festival, Salzburg, and Lucerne, to name a few.

Regular chamber music partners include Miklós Perényi, Mischa Maisky, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Maurice Steger, Viviane Hagner, Sarah Maria Sun, and Dénes Várjon.

Born into a musical family, Mikayel continued his studies after graduating from the State Conservatory in Armenia with Tibor Varga and Marcio Carneiro in Sion, and completed them at the Musikakademie Basel with Professor Ivan Monighetti. He was deeply inspired by Steven Isserlis, attending his masterclasses numerous times.

During his studies in Switzerland, Mikayel regularly appeared as a soloist with the Chamber Orchestra Tibor Varga, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Youth Symphony Orchestra of Armenia. He was also a member of the Basel String Quartet and the Zurich String Trio.

Mikayel served as Principal Cello at the Basque National Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Bern, Camerata Salzburg, Kammerorchester Basel, Gstaad Festival Orchestra, and Cappella Andrea Barca, among others. Since 2014, he has been Principal Cello of the Munich Chamber Orchestra and is regularly a guest at the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and its chamber music groups (12 Cellists/Scharoun Ensemble).

Mikayel gives chamber music masterclasses at institutions such as Jeunesses Musicales, Royal Birmingham Conservatory, and Suntory Hall (Tokyo). Starting in 2021, he has been teaching chamber music at the University of Music Karlsruhe. His solo album, Inner World, featuring works by Schumann, Rachmaninoff, Bloch, and Khachaturian, was released in April 2023 under the Rubicon label.

Mikayel plays on a cello by Andrea Castagneri from 1735.