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A Canadian violinist and conductor (born 21 December 1955, Toronto, Ontario, Canada). He is currently the music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra.
The youngest of five children from an Armenian father and English mother, he also claims Scottish ancestry through his maternal grandfather, a Sanderson, and the MacDonell of Glengarry clan. Oundjian was educated in England, where he began studying the violin at age seven with Manoug Parikian. He attended Charterhouse School in Godalming. He continued studies later with Béla Katona. He then attended the Royal College of Music.

Oundjian studied at the Juilliard School with Ivan Galamian, Itzhak Perlman, and Dorothy Delay. While at Juilliard, he minored in conducting, and later received encouragement his endeavors when he attended a master class from the eminent German conductor Herbert von Karajan.

In 1980, Oundjian won First Prize at the International Violin Competition in Viña del Mar, Chile. Oundjian became the first violinist of the Tokyo String Quartet and held the post for 14 years. A repetitive stress injury forced Oundjian to curtail his instrumental career. He then shifted his full-time musical focus to conducting.

ALBUMS


Brahms* / Rihm* / Harbison*, Jan Vogler, Mira Wang, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Double Concertos
2018, CD, Sony Classical, ,
Contemporary/Romantic
Xiayin Wang, Tchaikovsky* / Scriabin*, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Piano Concerto No. 1 / Piano Concerto No. 3 / Piano Concerto
2018, SACD, Hybrid, Multichannel, Album, Chandos
Vaughan Williams*, Louis Lortie, Sarah Jeffrey, Teng Li (2), Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Piano Concerto • Oboe Concerto • Serenade To Music • Flos Campi
2018
John Adams, Doric String Quartet, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Naive And Sentimental Music / Absolute Jest
2018, ,
Contemporary
Xiayin Wang – Tchaikovsky* / Khachaturian* – Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Piano Concerto No. 2 / Piano Concerto
2016
Rimsky-Korsakov*, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Sheherazade
2014, SACD, Hybrid, Multichannel, Chandos, ,
Romantic
John Adams, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Peter Oundjian
Harmonielehre / Doctor Atomic Symphony / Short Ride In A Fast Machine
2013, SACD, Hybrid, Multichannel, Album, Chandos
Gustav Holst - Peter Oundjian, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Planets
2011, CD, Album, TSO
Ralph Vaughan Williams, Peter Oundjian, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Symphony Nos. 4 & 5
2011, CD, Album, LIV, TSO Live
Shostakovich*, Peter Oundjian, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 11 "The Year 1905"
2011, CD, Album, LIV, TSO Live
Mozart* : Martin Fröst · Amsterdam Sinfonietta / Peter Oundjian · Vertavo String Quartet*
Grandes Œuvres Pour Clarinette
2006
Ludwig van Beethoven - Nieuw Sinfonietta Amsterdam / Peter Oundjian
String Quartet In C Sharp Minor, Op. 131 / Große Fuge, Op. 133
2002
Various / Peter Oundjian, William Tritt
Violin Sonatas
1993, CD, Album, CBC Records
Peter Oundjian
Elgar Enigma Variations, Mussorgsky/Ravel Pictures at an Exhibition
CD, Album, TSO
Stella Simakova, Orchestra Of St. Luke's, Peter Oundjian
Stella Simakova, Piano
CD, Promo, Not On Label
Tokyo String Quartet
Brahms: Complete String Quartets—Schubert: “Death and the Maiden,” Quartettsartz
2001, 2xCD, Album, VoxBox

APPEARANCES +


Alexandre Tharaud
Le Poète Du Piano
2020, 3xCD, Comp, Erato, Warner Classics, ,
Baroque/Classical/Romantic/Opera/Impressionist/Modern/Contemporary/Swing/Theme/Chanson/Sunshine Pop
Various
Landmarks / 40 Years Of Chandos
2019, 40xCD, Comp, RE + Box, Chandos, ,
Baroque/Classical/Romantic/Modern
Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tokyo String Quartet
The Tokyo String Quartet Plays Haydn & Mozart
2015, 5xCD, Comp, RE, RCA Red Seal, Sony Classical
Xiayin Wang
American Piano Concertos
2013, SACD, Hybrid, Multichannel, Album, Chandos,
Claude Debussy
The Claude Debussy Collection
2012, 18xCD, Mono + Box, Comp, Ltd, Sony Classical, ,
Impressionist/Opera/Romantic
Royal Scottish National Orchestra
Astar
2012, CD, Chandos,
Various
Transatlantisch Vriendschapsconcert 2011 = Transatlantic Friendship Concert 2011
2011, CD, Comp, Promo, Highgate Music,
Jacques Hétu, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre Symphonique De Québec, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Symphonique
2011, CD, CBC Records, ,
Modern
Various
The Classical Collection
2008, 30xCD, Comp + Box, Top, Sony Classical, ,
Baroque/Modern/Romantic/Classical/Impressionist
Johannes Brahms
Complete Works = L'Oeuvre Intégrale = Gesamtwerk
2008, 60xCD + CD-ROM + Box, Comp, Brilliant Classics, ,
Romantic/Choral/Vocal
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Musically Speaking 2008-2009 Season Highlights
2008, CD, CBC Records
Toru Takemitsu
Chamber Music
2007, CD, Comp, RCA
Fröst*, Mozart*
Clarinet Concerto & Quintet
2006, CD, Comp, RE, Dig, Aguilar, Altea, Alfaguara, Taurus, S.A. De Ediciones, BIS
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Musically Speaking 2006/2007 Season Highlights
2006, CD, CBC Records
Schumann* / Alicia De Larrocha, Tokyo String Quartet, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis
Piano Concerto & Quintet
2005, CD, Comp, RCA Red Seal, BMG Classics
Brahms*
The Masterworks
2004, 40xCD, RM + Box, Comp, Brilliant Classics, ,
Romantic/Vocal/Choral
Fröst*, Mozart*
Clarinet Concerto & Quintet
2003, ,
Classical
Brahms*
Chamber Music (Complete)
2003
Brahms*
String Quartets 1-3 Etc
2000, 2xCD, Comp, Regis Records,
Samuel Barber, Various
Barber's Adagio
1997
Bartók*, Janáček* – Tokyo String Quartet
String Quartets Complete
1996
Igor Stravinsky
Chamber Music
1995, CD, Praga
Brahms*, Weber*, Richard Stoltzman, Tokyo String Quartet
Clarinet Quintets
1995, ,
Romantic
Tokyo String Quartet - Debussy* / Ravel*, Richard Stoltzman, Heidi Lehwalder, James Galway
Impressions
1994
Beethoven*, Tokyo String Quartet
Quartetti Op. 132, 135
1993, CD, Album, Amadeus, Amadeus
Alicia De Larrocha, London Symphony Orchestra, Sir Colin Davis, Tokyo String Quartet, Schumann*
Piano Concerto • Piano Quintet
1993, CD, RCA Victor Red Seal, BMG Classics
Mozart*, James Galway, Tokyo String Quartet
Flute Quartets
1993
Beethoven*, Tokyo String Quartet
The Complete String Quartets
1993, 9x CD, 3x Box Set, ,
Romantic/Classical
Beethoven* - Tokyo String Quartet, Pinchas Zukerman
The Early String Quartets: Op. 18 Nos. 1-6 • Quintet Op. 29 • Quartet Op. 14 No. 1
1993, 3x CD, ,
Classical
Beethoven* - Tokyo String Quartet
The Late String Quartets
1992
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Tokyo String Quartet, Pinchas Zukerman
String Quintets K 515 & 516
1992
Beethoven*, Tokyo String Quartet
The Middle String Quartets
1991
Boccherini* / Castelnuovo-Tedesco*, Kazuhito Yamashita, Tokyo String Quartet
Guitar Quintets
1991
Richard Stoltzman - Mozart* - Tokyo String Quartet / English Chamber Orchestra
The Essential Clarinet (Concerto, K.622 / Quintet, K.581)
1991
Schubert*, Tokyo String Quartet
Schubert String Quartets
1990, CD,
Dvořák*, Hiroko Nakamura, Tokyo String Quartet
Piano Quintet, Op. 81; String Quartet, Op. 96 "American"
1989, ,
Romantic
Tokyo String Quartet, Franz Schubert
Quartet No.15 In G
1989,
Schubert* – Tokyo String Quartet
Quartet No. 9 In G Minor / Quartet No. 13 In A Minor
1988, ,
Romantic/Chamber Music/String Ensemble
Brahms* - Barry Douglas, Tokyo String Quartet
Piano Quintet In F Minor / Ballade, Op. 10, No. 4 / 3 Fantasies From Op. 116
1987, Vinyl, ,
Romantic
Brahms* / Tokyo String Quartet
String Quartets: No. 1 In C Minor, Op. 51, No. 1 / No. 3 In B-flat Major, Op. 67
1986
Various
映画の中のクラシック 9 / Classical Music On Movie
CD, Comp, The Daiso
Schubert*, Tokyo String Quartet
Quartets "Der Tod Und Das Mädchen" = "The Death And The Maiden" (No. 14 In D Minor = D-moll = Ré Mineur = Re Minore, No. 4 In C = D-dur = Ut Majeur = Do Maggiore)
CD, RCA Victor Red Seal, RCA Victor Red Seal, BMG Classics, BMG Classics
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Musically Speaking 2009.2010 Season Highlights
CD, Album, Promo, CBC Records
Brahms*, Tokyo String Quartet
Brahms Complete String Quartets—Schubert: “Death and the Maiden,” Quartettsartz
2xCD, Album, RE, VoxBox
Tokyo String Quartet / Takemitsu*, Barber*, Britten*
A Way A Lone
RSNO*
125 Years Of The Royal Scottish National Orchestra
2016, 2xCD, Comp, RM, Chandos,
Mahler*, Peter Oundjian, Barbara Hannigan, Toronto Symphony Orchestra
Symphony No. 4 (Live)
2008, CDr, Album, Unofficial, Not On Label (Toronto Symphony Orchestra)