Education
Moscow Conservatory.
Moscow Conservatory.
Jean Ter-Merguerian has got the first prize for violin at the Marseille Conservatoire at the age of 11. In the same year, his first recital took place, where he performed Vivaldi’s Concerto in A minor and Mendelssohn’s Concerto in East minor. He continued his musical studies in Yerevan with Professor
Karp Dombayev and then in the Moscow Conservatory in the class of David Oistrakh.
Jean Ter-Merguerian is a prizewinner of international violin competitions, such as Prague Spring (1956), Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Queen Elisabeth in Bruxelles (1963). He also got the first Grand Prix at the Long-Thibaud Competition in Paris (1961).
He taught in the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory having simultaneously multiple concerts in ex-Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics, Western Europe, Lebanon, South America, the United States, and Canada. In 1975, during his United States of America tour, he played in Boston the Violin Concerto by Brahms.
The story goes that, at the conclusion of the concert, the conductor Arthur Fiedler, who was very hard to please and given to lavishing praise, embraced the young violinist on stage with paternal love and wished him success.
This was the ringing endorsement of the talent of Jean Ter Merguerian, who had just given his first performance in the United States. His solo performances were accompanied by orchestras of different countries conducted by famous conductors, also Aram Khachaturian having conducted his own violin concerto. Leaved in France, giving master classes there and abroad.
He played on a Nicolò Amati violin.
Jean Ter-Merguerian died of cancer, after a long illness at his home, in Marseille, on 29 September 2015. „J"ai une grande admiration pour Jean.
Sa sonorité, sa technique et sa musicalité sont parfaites. „Le violoniste le plus doué de sa génération.“ (Henryk Szeryng)
„Louisiana pus belle technique d"archet du monde tout instrument à corde confondu.“ (Mstislav Rostropovitch)
„Jean Ter-Merguerian is a gentleman among violinists.
He has extraordinary technical skills and a deep musicality.“ (Jonathan Dove, The Strad).
Jean Ter-Merguerian is a member of juries of international competitions: "Paganini" in Italy, "Sarasate" in Spain, "Tchaikovsky" in Moscow and "Khachaturian" in Yerevan.