Klassiek Centraal asked the founder of the young chamber music festival ICCF in Waterloo (first edition was in May this year, the next in April 2026) a series of questions about his concerns as a human / musician. It became a fascinating series of answers. With such a committed man, the young festival must and will remain an enduring value in the musical landscape.
David Abrahamyan Grigoryan began his musical education with Oleg Lev, soloist with the Moscow Virtuosi. He obtained his bachelor's degree from the Maastricht Conservatory with Henk Guittart (member of the Schönberg Quartet) and Boris Belkin, where he graduated cum laude with distinction, and his master's degree in Music. In 2006 he received a scholarship to study at both the Juilliard School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Tobby Apple and Pantika Kopec. Abrahamyan furthered his musical education with leading musicians such as Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School in Berlin (2006), Antoine Tamestit in Paris (2007), Yuri Bashmet at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (2008) and Diemut Poppen in Detmold (2009).
At a young age he collaborated with prestigious ensembles and orchestras, including the Philharmonie Luxemburg, OSPA in Oviedo, Spain, and Lagen Laden in Brussels, where he was principal viola. He also performed with the Salzburger Kamersolisten under the artistic direction of Lavard Skou Larsen. Abrahamyan has performed under renowned conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Zubin Mehta, Bernard Haitink, Roberto Benzi, Jesús López Cobos and Plácido Domingo, among many others. As a soloist he has performed works such as Telemann's Concerto, Christian Bach's Concerto, Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 6, Hindemith's Trauermusik, Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante and Bruch's Double Concerto.
From 2005 to 2009 he was founder and artistic director of the masterclasses "Musical Improvement" in Felechosa (Asturias, Spain), where he invited leading teachers. He has performed in prestigious halls on all continents. Since 2025 he has been the driving force and artistic director of the ICCF in Waterloo where he collaborates with the Muziekkapel Koningin Elisabeth.
1. What is your earliest musical memory?
My very first musical memory is listening to my father playing the violin. I would listen until I fell asleep. Together with my cousin we listened to the violin concerto by Kachaturian performed by Leonid Kogan. I was enormously impressed by it.
2. What did you want to become when you grew up?
Pilot, but I had problems with my eyes since childhood, so it remained a dream.
3. Who passed on the passion for classical music to you?
My parents, probably my father. He told me that classical music is the best way to explore the world and meet people. He was right.
4. What is the best advice you have ever received, and do you still follow this wise counsel?
Never give up, consistency is the key to everything, and yes, I follow it and will always continue to do so.
5. How would an ode to your instrument sound?
The human voice. People always say that the cello comes closest to the human voice, but I think it is the viola.
6. Have you ever considered continuing your musical career abroad?
I already have the incredible fortune of being able to perform all over the world and play with fantastic musicians. When I started, I had no expectations because my career started late. I thought it would already be an enormous luck if I could play in an orchestra. With a lot of work, practice and consistency, I would say that I have achieved much more than I could ever have dreamed. I still enjoy making music without setting expectations, that is always better.
7. What does the concept of time mean to you and how do you prefer to use it?
Time is for me the most powerful aspect in a human life, it is an eternal question and strongly connected with the perception of each individual. Time is the only thing we cannot buy, control, repeat or manipulate in any way. Time is unique. Sometimes success in life is simply being in the right place at the right time. Just like timing in music makes the difference.
8. If you could change the past, your own past or that of someone / something else, where would you intervene?
I would not do it. Everything that has happened, good and bad, has a reason. Instead of wanting to change the past, which is absolutely impossible - we just talked about time - I would rather learn the reason for things and try to become better. That is terribly difficult, but in my opinion it is the only way. There is no way to avoid making mistakes, but there is a way to learn from them.
9. Does such a thing as music without communication exist, and if so, how would it sound in your case?
If there is no communication, there is no music: music is one of the strongest ways of communication in human existence. How else could you write or make music? Even if you produce it with a machine, it still has to be made.
10. How important are social media to you as a musician?
For me? Nothing special and I try to avoid them unless for personal communication, but I don't have an active life on social media. I don't support social media as the main factor to get engagement. It's a very long and difficult conversation, but what I exactly mean is that I wish social media would just be a tool and a function instead of the main way artists sell nowadays.
11. Do you prefer to enter the stage alone and with full confidence, or do you rely on a good outcome together with one or more fellow players?
Chamber music is by far my favourite musical choice.
12. Do you have a favourite quote or saying, preferably one related to music?
"Music is a thousandth of a millisecond between one note and another; how you go from one to the other – that's where the music is", as Isaac Stern put it.
13. Do you currently have a favourite composer; and if so, who is that?
The one I play, I don't think there's any other way to be able to devote myself to music.
14. Is there a specific motto that characterizes you?
Don't give up!
15. Do you have a fixed ritual just before or after a concert?
Not really.
16. Which artwork has moved or shaped you the most (book, film, painting, music)?
The Introitus by Mozart and Erbame Dich by Bach. I can't really explain it, but I feel that something different happens when I hear these two masterpieces.
17. Fill in: from the audience that comes to my concert, I expect them to…?
Enjoy.
18. How does the compliment sound that you would like to receive after a concert?
I don't like it, I really don't feel like it. From a musical partner with whom I've played, it's always nice to hear beautiful words of course, but from the audience I only hope they enjoyed it.
19. When did you last play out of tune?
Every day.
20. What don't you like?
Playing out of tune.
21. What would you like to know more about?
Music and time.
22. Which colleagues or ensembles do you look up to and would therefore like to perform with?
Hard to say, playing on stage with friends is always a pleasure and a nice time.
23. Which former musician do you admire the most and would therefore like to bring back to life?
Too many, I can't choose one: Schubert? Heifetz? Callas? Pavarotti? Bach? Rachmaninov? The list is endless. But I endlessly enjoy listening to Heifetz, Michael Rabin, Jossef Hassid and Horowitz.
24. If the canon of classical music is reassembled; how would you approach this task?
I don't think this is ideal at this moment, too many non-musicians and people who don't really know about it dominate the music scene these days, that is very sad.
25. Do you actually have a guilty pleasure you want to share?
Coca-Cola is one of them and sushi, I love it.
26. What good intention can you never stick to?
Quitting smoking, quitting Coca-Cola….
27. What music are you listening to at the moment?
Mainly R&B, hip-hop and the great classics like Pink Floyd or Freddy Mercury.
28. What is the first thing you do before you start studying a new piece of music?
Score/scores, then I go listen right away.
29. What music are you currently studying, and why?
At the time of this interview, I am working on "Der Tod und das Mädchen" by Schubert.
30. How do technology, science and mathematics relate to classical music in your opinion?
I think science and mathematics are clearly part of music and there has already been a lot of research done on it. As for technology, I think it's going better, but there's probably still a long way to go and I'm not against it at all, only the way we use it can be a problem.
31. How does the sound that is unique to you and the audience hushes sound?
Sometimes silence in music and in life is louder and more powerful than anything else, as Claudio Abbado said: "Music is born from silence", there's little I can add to that.
32. Do you have a favourite time signature, and why exactly?
Nowadays I think the key in life is to learn to live in the moment, the day you are in, the second you are sitting in, the exact note you are playing, not before and not after. Time exists only NOW for me.
33. If you were allowed to choose one emoji, which emotion(s) would you most like to express?
Smile
34. What do you consider your greatest achievement so far?
Making music
35. What project would you start immediately if you had unlimited time, resources and possibilities?
I would work harder on the project I'm currently working on, Younison, and I would improve the festivals I'm currently organizing. ICCF in Waterloo and Sant Pau International Chamber Music Festival in Barcelona.
36. What is your greatest musical asset?
My experiences.
37. Which quality do you admire the most in fellow musicians?
Respect for music and the work they do.
38. How do you find peace?
With music and sometimes with practising.
39. What keeps you awake at night?
Daily problems …
40. What is the most important lesson life has taught you so far?
If you can, do not judge and enjoy every second of what you do, love what you do and it will get better.
41. Which recording would you absolutely like to share with the readers of Klassiek Centraal?
Jossef Hassid playing the Hebrew melody by Achron, when he was only 16 years old. The Elgar Concerto performed by Menuhin, also when he was 16 I believe. Those two performers seem to come from somewhere else in my opinion.
42. Where can we see and hear you at work soon, and in what context will that be?
In April 2026 in Waterloo at the ICCF, in collaboration with the Muziekkapel Koningin Elisabeth, with great artists such as Enrico Pace and Claudio Bohorquez, among the resident artists of the QEMC. It will be the second edition of this new festival and expectations are high. Keep your fingers crossed with us that it will be a success for everyone.