Manoug Parikian (15 September 1920 – 24 December 1987) was a British concert violinist and violin professor.

Early life

Parikian was born in

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

parents. He studied in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Career

Parikian made his solo début in 1947 and led several orchestras: the Liverpool Philharmonic (1947–1948),Mitchell (2004), p. 487 London's

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

(1949–1957), the Yorkshire Sinfonia 1976–1978. He was musical director of the

Manchester Camerata The Manchester Camerata is a British chamber orchestra based in Manchester, England. A sub-group from the orchestra, the Manchester Camerata Ensemble, specialises in chamber music performances. The orchestra's primary concert venue is The Bridg ...

from 1980–1984. He also led the English Opera Group Orchestra between 1949 and 1951, and participated in various Aldeburgh Festival concerts as a chamber musician as well as in opera productions. He was an admired teacher at the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

. He also championed contemporary composers, many of whom wrote works for him: examples include

Thea Musgrave Thea Musgrave Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 27 May 1928) is a Scottish composer of opera and classical music. She has lived in the United States since 1972. Biography Born in Barnton, Edinburgh, Barnton, Edinburgh, Mus ...

's ''Colloquy'' (1960), Gordon Crosse's Violin Concerto No. 2,

Alexander Goehr Peter Alexander Goehr (; 10 August 1932 – 26 August 2024) was a German-born English composer of contemporary classical music and academic teacher. A long-time professor of music at the University of Cambridge, Goehr influenced many notable c ...

's Violin Concerto (1961–1962) and Hugh Wood's Violin Concerto.

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

also composed for Parikian a cadenza to Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra K261 in 1951, and was assisted by Parikian when revising the solo part of his own

violin concerto A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...

, originally composed in 1938–1939.

Personal life

In 1957, he married the musician turned antiquarian bookseller Diana Carbutt, who was divorced from the conductor

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ra ...

, with whom she had one son, the clarinettist Andrew Marriner, and one daughter, the writer Susie Harries. They had two sons together, Stepan (Step) and Levon (Lev). Parikian died in Oxford in 1987, aged 67. On the day of his death (Christmas Eve) BBC2 featured a performance of his, in the Antonio Stradivari Gala Celebration. His death was announced after the broadcast.

Notes

;Sources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parikian, Manoug 1920 births 1987 deaths Armenian violinists British male violinists Turkish violinists People from Mersin Musicians from London Turkish people of Armenian descent British people of Armenian descent Academics of the Royal Academy of Music 20th-century British violinists 20th-century English musicians 20th-century British male musicians Turkish emigrants to the United Kingdom