Vardan Mamikonian

Vardan Mamikonian (Armenian: Վարդան Մամիկոնյան; 387 AD — 451 AD) was an Armenian military leader, a martyr and a saint of the Armenian Church. He is best known for leading the Armenian army at the Battle of Avarayr in 451, which ultimately secured the Armenians' right to practice Christianity.

A member of the Mamikonian family of Armenia's highest caliber aristocrats (known as nakharars), is revered as one of the greatest military and spiritual leaders of Armenia, and is considered a national hero by Armenians. According to Arshag Chobanian "To the Armenian nation, Vartan [...] is the most beloved figure, the most sacred in their history, the symbolical hero who typifies the national spirit." Major Armenian churches are named after Saint Vardan. Equestrian statues of St. Vardan are found in the Armenian capital Yerevan and in the country's second largest city - Gyumri.

Biography

Vardan Mamikonian was born in 387 AD at the village of Artashat (Artaxata) of Daron region, north of the city of Moosh, to Hamazasp Mamikonian (Armenian: Համազասպ Մամիկոնյան) and to Sahakanoush (Armenian: Սահականուշ), daughter of Isaac of Armenia.

Vardan Mamikonian (musician)

Vardan Mamikonian is an Armenian pianist, and a naturalised French citizen.

The Armenian pianist, Vardan Mamikonian was born into a musical family. He began his piano studies at the Yerevan School of Music at the age of 6. He continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory and at the prestigious Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he became a student of Valery Kastelsky, the last pupil of legendary teacher Heinrich Neuhaus. Further studies followed with Russian virtuoso Lazar Berman, and in 1981 he was awarded First Prize at the Balis Dvarionas Piano Competition in Vilnius. More first prizes followed - in 1990 at the Lefébure Competition in Saint-Germain-en-Laye and in 1992 at the World Music Masters Competition in Monte Carlo, reserved exclusively for winners of international competitions. In 1991 he Mamikonian emigrated to France and has since made his home in Paris.

Vardan Mamikonian has attracted the attention of the international public with his elegant technique and superb musicianship. In the USA he has appeared with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra playing Sergei Rachmaninov’s Concerto No 1; with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1), Detroit Symphony Orchestra (S. Rachmaninov's Paganini Variations and Lutoslawski's Paganini Variations), Pacific Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky's Concerto No. 1), and National Symphony Orchestra (S. Rachmaninov's Concerto No. 4), and with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the Hollywood Bowl (S. Rachmaninov Concertos No. 1 and 4.).

Mamikonian

Mamikonian or Mamikonean (Classical Armenian: Մամիկոնեան; reformed orthography: Մամիկոնյան; Western Armenian pronunciation: Mamigonian) was an aristocratic dynasty which dominated Armenian politics between the 4th and 8th century. They ruled the Armenian regions of Taron, Sasun, Bagrevand and others. Their patron saint was Saint Hovhannes Karapet (John the Baptist) whose monastery of the same name (also known as Glak) they fiercely defended against the Sassanid invaders.

Origin

The origin of the Mamikonians is shrouded in the mists of antiquity. Moses of Chorene in his History of Armenia (5th century) claims that three centuries earlier two noblemen of Chinese origin, Mamik and Konak, rose against their half-brother, Chenbakir, the Emperor of Chenk, or China. They were defeated and fled to the king of Parthia who, braving the Emperor's demands to extradite the culprits, sent them to live in Armenia, where Mamik became the progenitor of the Mamikonians.

Mamikonian (disambiguation)

Mamikonian (in Armenian Մամիկոնեան) is a known Armenian family name.

It may refer to:

Mamikonian dynasty