The “Yerevan Perspectives” Festival hosted in Yerevan will be launched for the 16th time this year on March 28 with the concert by Armenia’s State Philharmonic Orchestra, which will be conducted by renowned conductor Valery Gergiev. As mentioned by the Director of the “Yerevan Perspectives” International Festival Sona Hovhannisyan (in the photo) in conversation with “Aravot”, the month of April is very dense and full of the visits by great musicians. “We are also excited in the sense that they are coming in April and offer their homage and respect to the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” added our interlocutor. Festival Director said that the “Yerevan Perspectives” friend and world-renowned pianist Evgeny Kissin will perform in Yerevan on April 2. On April 10-12, Yerevan will host the seminar on “Festival of Readings” of the European Festival Association, which is held every year in any member country, and brings the leading experts of Arts Management arrived from various countries together, who have made a great contribution to the world of art.
In Sona Hovhannisyan’s words, the three-day seminar will be of particular benefit especially for the Armenian professionals in this sphere because this place in Armenia is open. “The three-day lectures will be useful for arts administrators, concert halls, managers of the groups, and distinguished professors will visit Armenia, including the Edinburgh Festival Director, members of Directorate of the European Festival Association will be here too. One of the three days will be spent in Byurakan, as the Academy of our festival will be opened in Byurakan on April 3. It’s very happy news, good reputation festivals usually have their own academies, where the young musicians obtain their vocational benefit. Our goal is that our talented young musicians, thanks to the Academy, would be able to find their professional advancement through the arrival of renowned artists to Armenia.”
Another long-awaited concert will be held on April 27, in participation of renowned Armenian descent opera singer Maria Guleghina. She will perform accompanied by the Armenia State Philharmonic Orchestra. April 29 is also an exceptional day, the legendary “Kronos” Quartet will arrive. According to the experts, it represents another direction and quality in the world history of the string quartet. “Kronos” is a welcoming guest for any festival in the world, and it is noteworthy that it has expressed its attitude to the Genocide, “Kronos” has ordered a new piece of work to the Armenian-origin American composer Marie Kuyumjyan. The world premiere of this piece of work will take place in the framework of the “Yerevan Perspectives” Festival. “It is exciting that the great musicians will be in our country in April and will bring their tribute to the victims of the Armenian Genocide,” says the “Yerevan Perspectives” Director, adding that during the year there will be other well-known musicians’ concerts.
Referring to the “With You, Armenia” series, Sona Hovhannisyan noted that it is a separate program, where the 15-year connection of their festival and the whole reputation was put to action for the foreign prestigious musicians other than Armenians talk about genocide. “This is going to be very compelling as each word of these musicians will be followed by millions of people. It is one thing that Armenians are talking about genocide, but completely another thing that it is voiced by Kissin, Penderecki, and others. To the point, the first concert of this series was held in Jerusalem, with a greater reaction of what we expected. The countries where the concerts are held are complex countries in the political sense. The Armenian Genocide is not yet officially admitted in the US, Britain, and Israel. Speaking of the subject of genocide by these countries’ mass media is a complex task, but this issue was more than vibrant through celebrated musicians like, for example, in Israel. Local mass media are flooded with statements, the word Holocaust firstly owned by them was used about Armenians and the Armenian Genocide. The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra performed in Jerusalem, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra will perform in London, the State Men’s Choir with “Hortus Musicus” has already performed in Tallinn, in the American prestigious Carnegie Hall, where having a concert is already a great honor, Evgeny Kissin will be playing, Krzysztof Penderecki’s premiere of a new work will be performed and the composer writing it has visualized our “Hover” choir. On April 26, a big concert will be held in Brussels, in participation of Maxim Vengerov, Mischa Maisky and Sergey Nakaryakov, the Belgian National Philharmonic Orchestra will be conducted by George Pehlivanian. Rome will host a concert in participation of Milan’s La Scala Orchestra, moreover, the orchestra will be conducted by Daniel Harding. The concert series will be concluded in Vienna by the convert of Philharmonic Orchestra,” informed Sona Hovhannisyan.
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Gohar HAKOBYAN
