The violinist Ara Malikian delights us with a “solo ham” in his visit to La Rioja.

Ara Malikian was born into an Armenian family. He started playing the violin at a young age, together with his father. His talent was soon recognized, despite the hard circumstances of the Lebanese civil war that force him to live, and even to study in the anti-aircraft shelters, during long periods of time.

He gave his first important concert, when he was 12 and then, at the age of 14, the orchestra director Hans Herbert-Jöris heard him and got him a scholarship granted by the German Government to study at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover. At the age of 15, he was the youngest student to be admitted into this prestigious Centre for Musical Studies. Later he extended his studies at the London Guildhall School of Music & Drama, besides taking lessons from some of the most prestigious teachers of the world, as Franco Gulli, Ruggiero Ricci, Ivry Gitlis, Herman Krebbers or members of the Alban Berg Quartet. He is considered one of the best violin solo players of the world and he has a career full of hits and awards.

We coincided with him in his visit to La Rioja, where he came to offer one of his wonderful concerts and also one of his master classes, surrounded by boys and girls, and he was so kind to immortalize himself in this way.

We hope he is as good with cutting ham and he is with the violin!