Photo credit: © 2026 Arnos Martirosyan
Hailed by DownBeat magazine as “simply breathtaking,” internationally acclaimed Armenian pianist and composer Tigran Hamasyan brings his quartet to the stage for an electrifying evening of boundary-defying music from his latest album Manifeste, with a performance that fuses jazz improvisation, Armenian folk traditions, and progressive rock. This exclusive Hong Kong performance is co-presented by the Asia+ Festival.
The event is free and open to the public.
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A programme of the Asia+ Festival 2026
Performers
Tigran Hamasyan, piano, synthesizers
Yessai Karapetian, synthesizers
Marc Karapetian, bass
Arman Mnatsakanyan, drums
Biography
Tigran Hamasyan is considered one of the most remarkable and distinctive jazz-meets-rock pianists/composers of his generation. A piano virtuoso with groove power, Hamasyan seamlessly fuses potent jazz improvisation and progressive rock with the rich folkloric music of his native Armenia. Born in Gyumri, Armenia, in 1987, his musical journey began in his childhood home, where he was exposed to a diverse array of musical influences leading to him playing piano at the age of three, performing in festivals and competitions by the time he was eleven, and winning the Montreux Jazz Festival’s piano competition in 2003. He released his debut album, World Passion, in 2004 at the age of seventeen. The following year, he won the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Piano Competition. Additional albums include New Era; Red Hail; A Fable, for which he was awarded a Victoires de la Musique (the equivalent of a Grammy Award in France); Shadow Theater; and Luys i Luso which featured the Yerevan State Chamber Choir focusing on Armenian sacred music stretching stylistically from the 5th century to the 20th century.
His Nonesuch debut, Mockroot (2015), won the Echo Jazz Award for International Piano Instrumentalist of the Year; subsequent records for the label include An Ancient Observer (2017) the companion EP, For Gymuri (2018), Revisiting the Film (2021) and most recently StandArt (2022). Hamasyan was awarded the Deutscher Jazzpreis international category in Piano/Keyboards in 2021. Hamasyan has released records on France’s Plus Loins, Universal France, Nonesuch and ECM.
Hamasyan’s new conceptual album “The Bird of a Thousand Voices” was released in August 2024 on Naïve/Believe – his debut with the label. Tigran composed, scored, and arranged the much-anticipated project blending its traditional folk footprints with rock influences. The first single from the album “The Kingdom” can also be experienced as an interactive game at www.bird1000.com. The recently released double album is inspired by an ancient Armenian tale in which a hero travels into unseen realms to find and bring back a mythical bird – whose thousand different songs will awaken people again and bring harmony to the world. The transmedia music theater piece ‘The Bird of a Thousand Voices’, an intriguing immersive light installation with shadow play, digitally programmed voices, live music, and an Armenian-English libretto, premiered at the Holland Festival in June 2024.
In addition to awards and critical acclaim, Hamasyan has built a dedicated following worldwide, as well as praise from Herbie Hancock, Brad Mehldau and the late Chick Corea. “With startling combinations of jazz, minimalist, electronic, folk and songwriterly elements…Hamasyan and his collaborators travel musical expanses marked with heavy grooves, ethereal voices, pristine piano playing and ancient melodies. You’ll hear nothing else like this.” (NPR)
A programme of the Asia+ Festival 2026
Registration
- Free admission. Tickets will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
- This event is for ages 6 and above.
- Online registration is required; each registration admits one person regardless of age.
- Registrant who successfully made the booking will receive a confirmation email with intrusctions to access the ticket, either by using the Eventbrite app or website.
Admission Details
- Registrants are required to show the QR code on the ticket for check-in at the reception on the day. Each QR code is unique and cannot be transferred to other guests.
- Check-in will start 30 minutes before the event starts.
- No hourly parking or free parking will be provided to registrants. Registrants are encouraged to take public transportation to HKUST.
- The organizer reserves the right in its sole discretion to make changes to the event program without prior notice.
House Rules
- No eating and drinking is allowed during the performance.
- No unauthorized photography, recording or filming is allowed.
- No mobile phone and other electronic devices should be used during the performance.
- Please keep noise to a minimum during the performance.