X International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Pianists and Chamber Ensembles The International Stasys Vainiūnas Competition for Piano and Chamber Ensembles will take place from 20 to 28 March 2026 in Vilnius and Kaunas.

Avedis Kouyoumdjian

| Austria

Avedis Kouyoumdjian (Austria) was born in Beirut to a family of Armenian descent. He began his studies when he was 12 years old at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He was the youngest student at the time majoring in piano performance. At the University he studied with Professor Dieter Weber, Noel Flores, Alexander Jenner and Georg Ebert. The musician won the first prize at the International Beethoven Competition in Vienna in 1981. Since then he has performed in well renowned concert halls in Europe, United States, Canada and Japan. His recordings with many great artists and especially with his long time duo partner Takumi Kubota, well demonstrate his artistry as a pianist and a chamber musician. In 1997, A. Kouyoumdjian was appointed Professor of Piano and Chamber Music in the Keyboard Department at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He became the founder-director of the Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Institute of the University. Since the summer of 2004, he has been the Artistic Director at the Piano a St. Ursanne festival in Switzerland.