On 7 February 2025, renowned Armenian violinist Nikolay Madoyan performed at West Road Concert Hall in Cambridge, showcasing his exceptional technical ability and profound artistic insight. The program of the concert, carefully selected by Madoyan himself, featured a diverse mix of virtuoso masterpieces by Bach, Ysaÿe, Khachaturian, and Paganini, each presenting a different challenge as he navigated through various musical periods and styles.
Award-winning violinist Nikolay Madoyan had started his musical education at the Tchaikovsky Music School in Yerevan before moving to Germany. He took masterclasses with violinists Miriam Solovieff and Isaac Stern, with whom he also performed in France. Madoyan holds a Ph.D. in violin performance from the Berlin University of Arts and holds the title of “Honorary Professor” at the Yerevan State Conservatory. Over the course of his career, Madoyan has performed with leading orchestras and esteemed conductors in some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls, including London’s Royal Festival Hall, Milan’s Verdi Theater, Berlin’s Kammermusiksaal, the Edinburgh Queen’s Hall, the Vienna Kammermusiksaal, and many more.
In 2017 Madoyan entered the Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Violin Performance after performing 59 classical compositions for 33 hours, 2 minutes, and 41 seconds at Komitas Chamber Hall in Yerevan. In 2022, Madoyan signed with Naxos Records, releasing his debut album entitled Armenian Brilliance in 2023, which received critical acclaim from prestigious classical music magazines such as BBC, Pizzicato, and the American Record Guide. He has been a frequent performer at Armenia’s Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall and other venues and was awarded the title of Merited Artist by the Republic of Armenia in 2004.
The West Road Concert Hall, known for its excellent acoustics and 400-seat capacity, is one of the most sought-after auditoriums in Cambridge, hosting world-class soloists year after year. As part of the University of Cambridge, the hall has a regular audience of local musicians, academics, students, and wider classical music-lovers with high expectations from visiting performers. Madoyan’s debut performance was highly anticipated by organizers, the British Armenian Society, as well as current Armenian students and the Armenian alumni, all of whom contributed to the concert’s success.
The performance opened with J.S. Bach’s Partita No. 2, a piece that demands both technical mastery and emotional depth. Madoyan’s control of the intricate variations was impressive, expertly balancing complexity with profound emotional expression. The audience was equally enthralled by his interpretation of the celebrated Chaconne, which sounded remarkably powerful and resonant, played on his 18th-century Guarneri violin.
After the interval, Madoyan performed Ysaÿe’s Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 (Obsession). The first movement blended Bach’s Prelude with Ysaÿe’s distinctive reimagining. In the second movement, Malinconia, with the haunting Dies Irae motif lingering throughout the Sonata, Madoyan’s phrasing was deeply personal and expressive, pushing the boundaries of both technical mastery and artistic interpretation. Danse des Ombres was vibrant and rhythmically charged. In the fourth movement, Les Furies, the violinist unleashed explosive energy, concluding with breathtaking virtuosity and a triumphant finish.
Next, Madoyan presented Aram Khachaturian’s Adagio from the ballet Gayane. His sensitive performance revealed the emotional depth of the piece, with soft, flowing lines that conveyed a profound sense of melancholy. The rich tone of the violin wrapped the concert hall, as Madoyan’s superb control over dynamics added an intimate layer to the music’s sorrowful theme.
The program then shifted to the lively Armenian dance Uzundara, also from the ballet Gayane. This exuberant wedding dance, full of rhythmic complexity, allowed Madoyan to display both technical brilliance and vibrant energy. His precise articulation of Khachaturian’s asymmetrical rhythms was impressive, and the infectious joy of the dance radiated throughout the performance.
For the finale, Madoyan selected two challenging works by Paganini, both connected to England but rarely performed in the UK or elsewhere. The first piece, Variations on God Save the King, was written in 1829 on the motives of the British national anthem. Those six variations are among the most difficult violin compositions, making them rarely performed in concert settings. Madoyan approached the rapid bowing and dazzling double stops with ease, maintaining a clear sense of structure throughout. The second piece, Farewell Caprice in E Major – composed in 1831 and dedicated to Paganini’s English friend M.E. Eliason – showcased Madoyan’s wide dynamic range and emotional depth. He navigated through the contrasting sections with remarkable precision, shifting seamlessly between delicate moments and fiery passages.
For his encore, Madoyan performed Krounk (Crane) by Komitas, a deeply moving Armenian folk song that touched even the most composed British spectators.
Madoyan’s recital at West Road Concert Hall was an unforgettable evening, demonstrating the rare technical brilliance required to perform such a demanding program for solo violin. In this uncertain and tumultuous times, it seems vital to display Armenian culture and musical accomplishments in cities like Cambridge – one of the foremost academic and cultural hubs of the world. Following the success of his Cambridge debut, Nikolay Madoyan has been invited by the organizers, the British Armenian Society, to return in April with a new exciting programme of European and Armenian masterpieces, the forthcoming concert will be dedicated to the 110th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Hasmik Seymour
London
orer.eu
