The Aznavoorian Sisters

ANI AZNAVOORIAN, CELLO | MARTA AZNAVOORIAN, PIANO

Virtuoso Performers of Armenian and Classical Repertoire

“True artists showing great sensitivity and great virtuosity at all moments.”

Los angeles Times

The sisters' first public performance was at the ages of 4 and 8 at their Armenian church in Evanston IL. They won First Prize in the Illinois Bell Young Performers Competition, resulting in a live performance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra on PBS. Since then, they have toured France, Armenia, and Finland, performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and presented countless programs in their hometown of Chicago including a major fundraiser for the Armenian earthquake in 1988.  This season, the Aznavoorian Duo embarks on a tour of California, and the Seattle Chamber Music Society presents them in a winter residency. 

The Aznavoorian Sisters went on to win the National Foundation for the Arts Award, leading to their appointment as Presidential Scholars in the Arts and performances at The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and at The White House, where Ani met President Bill Clinton and Marta met President George H. W. Bush. They have worked with leading contemporary composers such as Lera Aerbach, Ezra Laderman, William Bolcom, Osvaldo Golijov, Shulamit Ran, Peter Boyer, Augusta Read Thomas, Stacy Garrop, Bright Shen, Pierre Jalbert, Laura Schwendinger, Mischa Zupko, Daron Hagen, Patrick Zimmerli, Vache Sharafyan, Debra Kaye, and Colin Mathews among others.

In 2022, the Aznavoorian Sisters released their début album, Gems from Armenia, on the Cedille Label. The CD features Armenian music and a world premiere recording written for the duo by composer Peter Boyer and Vache Sharafyan. The CD has been receiving rave reviews in the press.

Marta and Ani work with many programs to help create musical training pathways for students from traditionally under-represented backgrounds. They created the Keynote Foundation, which aims to fund these students and help them achieve their full musical potential. 

Gems from Armenia

In their 2022 debut album, the Aznavoorian Sisters celebrate the sounds of their ancestral homeland on Gems from Armenia. The album marks the Chicago-raised sisters’ recording debut as the Aznavoorian Sisters.

“The most rapturously poignant album of the year so far is Gems From Armenia, by the Aznavoorian Duo . . . Sisters Ani and Marta Aznavoorian – cello and piano, respectively – draw on their heritage for a lyrical playlist of material that spans from the 19th century to the present. It underscores the disproportionately rich influence this tiny nation’s music continues to make around the globe.”

— delarue new york music daily