Sergei Babayan

Sergei Babayan (born 1 January 1961, Guimri, Soviet Armenia) is an Armenian-American concert pianist.

Babayan began his musical studies at age six with Luisa Markaryan. He studied under Lev Naumov and at the Moscow Conservatory under Vera Gornostayeva and Mikhail Pletnev.

In 1989, he traveled to the United States. That same year he won first prize in the Robert Casadesus International Piano Competition. After he won first prize in the Palm Beach International Piano Competition and first prize in the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, he became a Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Music Competition in 1991.

Babayan won first prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition and third prize at the Busoni International Piano Competition. He was a prize winner at the Esther Honens International Piano Competition.

His programming often includes Romantic composers such as Rachmaninoff, and modern works by composers such as Witold Lutosławski, György Ligeti, Carl Vine and Arvo Pärt. He is also recognized for his prominent interpretations of Johann Sebastian Bach. He frequently appears as a soloist with such orchestras as The National Orchestra of Belgium, The Cleveland Orchestra, The Italian Symphony Orchestra of Brescia & Bergamo, and the Czech State Philharmonic.