On savait que Sergey Khachatryan était l'un des jeunes violinistes avec lesquels il faut aujourd'hui compter.  Soliste du dernier concert de l'Orchestre du Capitole à la Halle aux Grains (dirigé par Tugan Sokhiev), le virtuose d'origine arménienne révèle ce soir-là une vraie maturité artistique dans le Concerto pour violon de Brahms. Aussi sensible que techniquement superlatif, son archet très sûr phrase la partition avec une élégance souveraine, fait entendre un son à la fois limpide et plein, caresse les cordes lors d'un Adagio superbe, en état d'apesanteur.  2200 personnes lui réserveront un triomphe.  Le violoniste offrira deux bis. Anne-Marie Chouchan, La Dépêche du Midi, 30 January 2013

A Violin and Its Master Have Their Moment

In New York, where audiences are treated to regular performances by star musicians, there is excellent music-making in abundance.  Yet for all the virtuoso playing—however enjoyable it may be—it is still rare to hear an artist communicate with the level of searing intensity that Sergey Khachatryan achieved in his sublime interpretation of Bach’s Partita for Solo Violin No. 2 at Alice Tully Hall on Wednesday evening.

[…] This was certainly a deeply spiritual performance, personal and soaringly expressive.  As soon as Mr. Khachatryan began the opening Allemande, you could sense how intently the audience began listening, as he achieved the all-too-uncommon feat of seducing a rustling, coughing crowd into silence.

[…] There were moments of plaintive beauty when Mr. Khachatryan played the monumental Chaconne, and equally heart-wrenching moments during the Sarabande.  His sweet-toned approach is not the Baroque purist’s aesthetic, but not a note or phrase seemed ill advised.

The performance after intermission proved equally intense.  Mr. Khachatryan was joined by his sister Lusine Khachatryan, a gifted pianist, for an exciting rendition of Beethoven’s “Kreutzer” Sonata, whose tumultuous dialogue and seething drama inspired Tolstoy’s novella of the same name.  Such a sense of danger pervaded this fiery interpretation that you could easily imagine the jealous husband of Tolstoy’s story reacting in fury after hearing his wife performing this passionate music with another man.
The drama continued with the encore, the soulful, turbulent Introduction and Perptuum Mobile for violin and piano (1957) by the Armenian composer Edvard Mirzoyan.

Vivien Schweitzer, New York Times, 24 May 2012

Sergey and Lusine Khachatryan, who gave a piano and violin recital Sunday at Herbst Theater, are an amiable pair on stage.  The Armenian siblings play with conviction and in finer moments, elevate the spirit of their audience.  They offered familiar works of Bach and Beethoven, and distinguished themselves on the strength of a pronounced singing line, rhythmic chemistry and Sergey’s uncommon abilities.

[…] The young artist sang nobly on his 1740 “Ysaye” Guarneri ‘del Gesu’, beginning with Johann Sebastian’s Second Partita, a celebrated and otherwise revealing Baroque standard.

Khachatryan’s sound is immediately notable for its warmth and rather flexible texture.  Technically, the violinist can play anything that one expects from a competition champion; his command of the instrument is the subject of audience fascination.  The technical challenges in the Giga showed him in fine form, hitting pitches squarely with subtle inflection.  His legato in the Sarabanda stretches like silk, the product of a smooth and flexible bow arm.  Of course, it was his ability to express emotion between the notes, as found in the Chaconne, which capped an exceptional performance.  The soloist sustained the movement beautifully, laced it with tension, and unraveled it gracefully.  The end was met with a powerful silence from the afternoon crowd. 

[...] Accompanying her brother in Beethoven’s Kreutzer sonata, Lusine followed in rhythm, dynamics and tempo through the turbulent Presto.  The balance and energy of the performance hovered throughout the Andante con variazioni.  The piano opened beautifully, producing voiced chords with noticeable rubato.  Sergey’s lyrical gift alone is worth the price of admission, notable for its tenderness and malleability on a whim.  Rhythms in the second variation revealed fine chemistry, while darker tones and shades of the third were offered with marked beauty.  Lusine appears to have found her velvety stride here—delicacy emerged, runs were gracefully finished, and trills marvelously spun.

Elijah Ho, San Francisco Examiner, 15 May 2012

**** Every so often, you hear a performance that leaves you thinking: yes, that's how it should sound.  So it is with the current Melbourne Symphony Orchestra Master series where Sergey Khachatryan is soloist in the Sibelius Violin Concerto.  This young musician won the Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in his mid-teens and you can see why: a superb technical armoury, urgent attack and an engrossing commitment that makes the Finnish composer's solitary concerto a gripping narrative from its exposed opening solo to the vaulting final bars.

Khachatryan suggests other great interpreters—Nivett's focus, Francescatti's urgency, the rapid-fire address of Spivakovsky—but he is his own man, giving the first movement cadenza a fierce drive that exercises his Guarnerius to the limit, then powering out octave chains in the finale with flawless pitching.  Under guest conductor Ludovic Morlot, the MSO supplied responsive support, ranging from an opening transparent string fluttering to an admirably controlled ferment in the concerto's last stanzas.  Best of all, soloist and orchestra dovetailed precisely and the interpretation had an exceptional integrity of purpose.

The Saturday Age, 2 July 2011

THE STRAD RECOMMENDS: This is wonderfully expressive playing of a kind that I was beginning to fear had gone forever. […] The three sonatas begin in deeply probing fashion—the C major Adagio starts almost like a breath.  The fugues are amazingly thoughtful, especially the A minor and C major; the G minor asserts the sterner side of Bach’s counterpoint more.  In each case the second slow movement is very lovely, but in keeping with the way the whole sonata starts, that of the C major is quite hesitant.  The finales are dazzling. […] The performances of the Partitas realise all the multi-faceted drama of the dance.  The Chaconne is a spiritual journey, as I believe it should be. The Strad, January 2011

This young violinist avoids the lean, fleet-fingered approach to Baroque music now in vogue, favoring an unabashedly Romantic and passionate take on Bach’s three sonatas and three partitas for solo violin. Mr. Khachatryan plays with rich and beautiful tone; his interpretations are vividly rendered, detailed and potently expressive. New York Times, 25 November 2010

For all his youth, Khachatryan certainly has deep experience. […] His sound is both sturdy and beautiful, and he paces and phrases everything with intelligent eloquence, always allowing the music to breathe and voicing counterpoints lucidly.  Most impressive, though, is the emotional and spiritual depth he shows. The Sunday Times, 7 November 2010