For the first time in Armenian history, the complete edition of one of the most influential violin methods, Carl Flesch’s iconic book, has been published in Armenian translation.
The new edition of Carl Flesch's "The Art of Violin Playing" is co-edited by Maximilian Simon and Nadine Contini. The Armenian edition is published under the licensing agreement with Berlin publisher Ries & Erler.
The project is organized by Primavera Charitable Foundation in partnership with The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Eduard Topchjan)
and with the generous support of the Amaryan Charitable Foundation, Apricot Capital and Balchug Capital
To celebrate its presentation, a concert “The Art of Violin Playing” will showcase the mastery of Armenian and international performers with Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of its Artistic Director and Principal Conductor, Eduard Topchjan.
"The new edition [by M. Simon and N. Contini] of Carl Flesch's book is of utmost importance for violinists.
It is a compendium of violin-making secrets and wisdom. Superbly edited. Bravo!"
"Carl Flesch’s book is, above all, a phenomenon in itself — a masterful guide to violin artistry, recognized worldwide and available in many languages. To finally see it published in Armenian is a remarkable gift for musicians, students, and professors alike. Both those who have long relied on the English and German editions, and those who until now could not access it, will greatly benefit from this Armenian version.
The violin is the voice of my soul, and I sincerely hope this publication will inspire and support the revival of violin education in Armenia, helping it return to the high level it once enjoyed — and that it is capable of achieving again today."
"The Amaryan Charitable Foundation is happy to gift the
Armenian music community with Carl Flesch's 'The Art of Violin Playing.'"
"The Armenian edition will ensure our musicians in Armenia
have access to the highest standards of violin education,
enriching the learning experience for students and teachers alike.
We are confident that they will use it to hone their skills
and continue to shine brightly on both local and international stages."
ABOUT THE BOOK Carl Flesch "The Art of Violin Playing"
“Educational materials in my native, national language are not just books; they are a reflection of my culture, history, and way of thinking. When I study in my own language, I feel a connection to my ancestors and my roots, and knowledge becomes more accessible and easier to understand. For me, this is important because my language is a part of my identity, and learning in it means preserving that identity and passing it on to future generations.”
A monumental undertaking of Carl Flesch's work for teachers and students. The range of material covered by this massive book is enormous: Body Posture, The Left Arm (positions & fingerings), Vibrato, Bowing (including all varieties of strokes), Tone Production, Musical Memory, etc., musical examples, and covers experts from the works of all the master composers, hand diagrams and a table for the consistent use of bowing and fingering symbols.
Armenian teachers know the work by Carl Flesch. It was published in Russian during the USSR period.
APPLY FOR A FREE COPY
The free copies are availble for the distribution in Armenia due to the generous decision of Amaryan Charitable Foundation, Apricot Capitaland Balchug Capital
THE PROJECT
THE PRIMAVERA CHARITABLE FOUNDATION TEAM IS BEYOND GRATEFUL TO THE PROFESSIONALS WHOSE DEDICATED WORK MADE THE ARMENIAN TRANSLATION OF THIS BOOK POSSIBLE:
Aram BadalyanTranslator
Chief Editor, Professor, Violinist
Armen HarutyunyanScientific Editing
Violinist, Honored Pedagogue of the RA, Professor and Head of the Department of String Instruments at Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, President of the “Kamerton” Cultural NGO, and recipient of the Gold Medal of the Ministry of Education and Science of the RA
Nona VoskanyanProofreading
Musicologist, Member of the Union of Composers of Armenia
Mari MinassyanScore Examples
Accompanist at Yerevan Komitas Conservatory, Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abovyan
Elena YakovlevaCo-Founder & Executive Director Primavera Charitable Foundation
Viktorya SarkisyanProject manager
Vardan DallakyanDesign & layout

Aram Badalyan
Translator & Chief Editor, Professor, Violinist
Aram Badalian is Professor at Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He has been invited as guest professor and soloist to renowned festivals where he also played chamber music and was concertmaster and member of several festival orchestras such as at the Pärnu Music Festival in Pärnu (Estonia), Palermo Classica in Palermo (Italy), Liedfestspiele in Engadin (Switzerland), Les heures romantiques (France), and at the Goppisberger Music Festival in Wallis (Switzerland).
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Aram Badalian is Professor at Hochschule für Musik Detmold. He has been invited as guest professor and soloist to renowned festivals where he also played chamber music and was concertmaster and member of several festival orchestras such as at the Pärnu Music Festival in Pärnu (Estonia), Palermo Classica in Palermo (Italy), Liedfestspiele in Engadin (Switzerland), Les heures romantiques (France), and at the Goppisberger Music Festival in Wallis (Switzerland).
Aram Badalian is a laureate of various international competitions and has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Baden-Baden Philharmonic(Germany), State Goubernatorsky Orchestra (St. Petersburg, Russia), Charlemagne Orchestra (Brussels, Belgium), Mersin State Opera Orchestra (Mersin, Turkey), Kharkov State Symphony Orchestra (Kharkiv, Ukraine) and Crimean State Symphony Orchestra (Simferopol, Evpatoria, Yalta),Detmolder Kammerorchester(Germany).
Badalian received his first violin lessons at the age of seven. After graduating from the P.I.Tchaikovsky Conservatory for young talented musicians in Yerevan, Armenia, he continued his studies in Brussels (Koninklijk Muziekconservatorium Brussel) with Valery and Igor Oistrakh. In 2004 he was "Artist in Residence" at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he studied with Augustin Dumay and Tatiana Samouil. Aram Badalian completed his violin studies at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe, in the class of Prof. Joseph Rissin. In 2018 he received the diploma degree in the soloist class.
Badalian currently lives and teaches in Detmold.

Maximilian Simon
Сo-Editor of the German version, Violinist, Orchestra leader
— "I think the time is ready to spread the best words ever written down for violinists. Whether you are a learning student or a well educated teacher, Carl Flesch has made this beautiful craft accessible and understandable to everyone. Im thrilled that the book „The Art of violin playing“ will finally be available in Armenien as well!"
Whether as a soloist, chamber musician or as deputy section leader of the 2nd violins of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maximilian Simon inspires on stage with self-confident sovereignty, technical brilliance, expressive playing and his noticeably infectious enthusiasm for music. Curious by nature, and open to challenges, the charismatic musician and GEWA Music Brand Ambassador manages to convince his listeners offline and online not only with the standard works of the repertoire, but also with contemporary and unknown music.
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Whether as a soloist, chamber musician or as deputy section leader of the 2nd violins of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Maximilian Simon inspires on stage with self-confident sovereignty, technical brilliance, expressive playing and his noticeably infectious enthusiasm for music. Curious by nature and open to challenges, the charismatic musician and GEWA Music Brand Ambassador manages to convince his listeners offline and online not only with the standard works of the repertoire, but also with contemporary and unknown music.
Highlights of his past appearances as a soloist were concerts with Yuri Bashmet in Rostov am Dom and in the Moscow Conservatory with the violin concerto by Beethoven and the Concerto funèbre by Karl Amadeus Hartmann. In the Berlin Philharmonie, the audience listened to him visibly spellbound as he interpreted the late romantic violin concerto by Erich J. Wolff with the Berliner Symphoniker under the baton of Lior Shambadal – as “sung touchingly, as virtuosically brilliant”, as the press judged and the jubilation in the hall confirmed.
Born in Koblenz in 1988, Maximilian began playing the violin at the age of six and won his first competition just a year later. Numerous other awards followed before he studied at the Berlin University of Music “Hanns Eisler” (Prof. Wallin) and at the University of Music and Theater Hanover (Prof. Wegrzyn) and passed his concert exam. He received valuable artistic impulses in master classes, among others, with Pierre Amoyal, Vadim Gluzman and Christian Tetzlaff.
Maximilian Simon made his solo debut in 2009 with the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra Essen. Subsequently, engagements took him to the Rheinische Philharmonie Koblenz, the Jenaer Philharmonie, the Symphony Orchestra of the Far East and the Moscow Soloists as well as to renowned festivals such as the Schwetzingen SWR Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Salzburg Summer Festival, Young Euro Classics Berlin, Dialog of the 4 cultures in Lodz and at the tide festival. His chamber music partners include artists such as Yuri Bashmet, Jens-Peter Maintz, Patrick Demenga and Michail Lifits. Several radio recordings for SWR2, HR2 and Deutschlandradio documented his artistic work.
Maximilian Simon was a scholarship holder of the Rheinland-Pfalz Future Initiative (ZIRP), the Orchestra Academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin and the Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz, which loaned him two violins (Sanctus Seraphin and Vincenzo Panormo) for two years each.
In the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Maximilian Simon plays a violin by Nicolo Amati from 1623, which is generously loaned to him from a private collection. In addition, he is an author at the Ries & Erler music publisher: together with his colleague Nadine Contini he has published the work “Carl Flesch: The Art of Violin Playing, compactly edited by Maximilian Simon and Nadine Contini” in November 2020. As an ongoing bestseller, the book has already won the prestigious „Best Edition“ – Price by the German Music Publishing Association.
PROJECT SCHEDULE
25 December 2025
Press Conference
Time: TBD
Place: Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall
26 December 2025
Book Presentation Gala Concert
Program
M. Glinka – Overture to opera "Ruslan and Lyudmila"
E. Korngold – Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35, soloist Maximilian Simon (Germany)
M. Bruch – Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, Op. 26, soloist Aram Badalyan (Armenia/Germany)
Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra,
Artistic Director and Principal conductor Eduard Topchjan
Venue:
Aram Khachaturian
Сoncert Hall
19:00
TBD
Violin master classes and book presentation & giveaway in Armenian marzes
Maximilian Simon, violin
Details are coming very soon

