The Armenian musician Levon Eskenian was born in Lebanon in 1978. In 1996 he moved to Armenia where he currently lives. In 2005 he graduated from the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory where he obtained a Master’s degree studying the piano with Professor Robert Shugarov. In 2007 he took his Postgraduate degree in the class of Professor Willy Sargsyan. He has also studied composition, organ and improvisation classes at the Conservatory and harpsichord in Austria and Italy with the English organist and harpsichordist Christopher Stembridge.
One of the most active figures in Armenia’s musical life, a director of various ensembles and artistic institutions, Eskenian has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician with a program ranging from early baroque to contemporary music in Europe, Middle East, Asia, South America, and Australia. Eskenian has organized numerous concerts, lectures, masterclasses and festivals in Armenia. He is the founder of the Akna Cultural Society to organize studies and promote rarely performed repertoire ranging from ancient, early baroque to contemporary music.
In 2008, gathering leading musicians playing Armenian and Middle Eastern authentic instruments Eskenian founded the Gurdjieff Ensemble to play his arrangements of the G.I. Gurdjieff/Thomas de Hartmann piano music. The debut album on ECM records, Music of G.I. Gurdjieff was widely acclaimed and won prestigious awards including the Edison Award as Album of the Year in 2012. Now Eskenian has turned his attention to Komitas, arranging for authentic instruments, which was released on ECM Records in autumn 2015. Eskenian and The Gurdjieff Ensemble are continuing the yearly tours around the world.