Astrig Siranossian

The young French cellist Astrig Siranossian, of Armenian background, has shown impressive versatility for an artist in the first part of her career. That career has had an illustrious beginning, with prestigious awards and residencies, and several promising recordings. Siranossian was born in Lyon, France, in 1988. By age eight, she had already earned a place at the Conservatoire National de Lyon, where she studied with Patrick Gabard. She moved on to the CNSM: the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Lyon; her teacher there was Yvan Choffoleau. Siranossian earned a master's degree with the highest distinction at the Basel Musikhochschule in Switzerland, studying there with Ivan Monighetti. She won the 2013 International Penderecki Cello Competition, with two special prizes, as well as other competitions. From the beginning of her concert career, she made high-profile appearances. Siranossian has performed with the Zagreb Soloists and Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia, the Sinfonieorchester Basel, the Orchestre de Chambre de Lyon, the National Polish Radio Symphonic Orchestra, the Krakow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Częstochowa Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Philharmonische Orchester Giessen. Her chamber music collaborators are an impressive roster indeed, including Yo-Yo Ma, with whom she performed in the 2014 premiere of a cello octet by Philippe Hersant. Devoted to contemporary music, Siranossian has also premiered works by Rudolf Kelterborn, Tigran Mansourian, Jean-Luc Darbelley, and Daniel Schnyder, who dedicated a violin-cello duo to Astrig and her sister Chouchane. Siranossian has appeared at the Swiss Chamber Music Festival, the Next Generation Classic Festival at Bad Ragaz, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, among others. In 2016 she became artistic director of the Musicades Romanesques festival. Perhaps her most prestigious honor was her appointment as artist-in-residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium. Signed to the Claves label, Siranossian released a recital of works by Poulenc, Fauré, and Komitas in 2016. She followed that up two years later with a recording of the Penderecki and Khachaturian cello concertos with the Sinfonia Varsovia under Adam Klocek. A recording of works by Schubert for the Evidence label was in the pipeline. ~ James Manheim