| Biography | Manoug Parikian (15 September 1920 24 December 1987) was a British concert violinist and violin professor of Armenian descent. Parikian was born in Mersin, Turkey. He studied in London, made his solo début in 1947 and led several orchestras - the Liverpool Philharmonic, London's Philharmonia Orchestra from 1949 to 1957, the Yorkshire Sinfonia from 1976 to 1978 - and was musical director of the Manchester Camerata from 1980 to 1984.
He was an admired teacher at the Royal Academy of Music. He also championed contemporary composers, many of whom wrote works for him: examples include Thea Musgrave's Colloquy (1960), Gordon Crosse's Violin Concerto No. 2,, Alexander Goehr's Violin Concerto (1961-62)] and Hugh Wood's Violin Concerto. Benjamin Britten also composed for Parikian a cadenza to Mozart's Adagio for Violin and Orchestra, K261.
Parikian died in Oxford in 1987, aged 67. |