Born into a musical family in Yerevan, Armenia , Vardan Mamikonian began studying the piano at the age of seven and quickly showed exceptional talent. After completing studies in Armenia, Mamikonian continued at the Moscow Conservatory for two years and then moved on to the prestigious Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he became a pupil of Valery Kastelsky, himself the last pupil of the legendary teacher Heinrich Neuhaus. Later Mamikonian continued studies with Russian virtuoso Lazar Berman. In 1991 Vardan Mamikonian immigrated to France and took French nationality. He currently makes his home in Paris. A decisive moment in his career came in 1992 when he won the World Music Masters Competition in Monte Carlo which subsequently lead to numerous major engagements throughout the world.

Vardan Mamikonian has toured extensively throughout Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as the Middle East and has performed in the world's great concert halls under conductors such as; Valery Gergiev, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Eliahu Inbal, Rudolf Barshai, Vladimir Spivakov, and Lothar Zagorsek. Although Mamikonian has received great acclaim from the public and media for his performances of the repertoire of Liszt, Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, he does not want to be categorized as a specialist in that repertoire and is equally attracted to the works of Bach, Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. In addition, he has devoted much time to the study and performance of French repertoire and has been acclaimed as one of the great interpreters of the music of Debussy and Ravel. Mamikonian has also brought many works of the 20th Century to the public's attention, most notably the compositions of the Armenian composer Arno Babajanian, as well as the French composer Henri Duttileux, with whom he has worked closely. Vardan Mamikonian has recorded extensively for radio, television and has made numerous recordings for the German label Orfeo. Several of these recordings have received awards from the international press.