According to Hrachya Harutyunyan, a professor of the National Conservatory in Paris, if the European should think of performing the work more emotional, then Armenians should think about managing the emotions.
Under the “Renaissance” international contests-festival in Gyumri, France-based well-known violinist, professor of National Conservatory in Paris, Hrachya Harutyunyan, was in Armenia. A musician, who has also introduced the works of Aram Khachaturian in the mandatory repertoire of the National Conservatory in Paris and is working with his methods. In an interview with Aravot, Mr. Harutyunyan spoke about the contests-festival “Renaissance” in Gyumri with satisfaction where he was included in the staff of jury, he liked the title of the festival “The Art against war and terrorism.” The musician said he hardly managed to leave the classes in two musical institutions in Paris where now he is substituted by David Harutyunyan, the violinist of the Paris Philharmonic Orchestra.
On the other hand, he is happy to meet many talented young people in Gyumri for whom he is forecasting a great future. Hrachya Harutyunyan recommends the young musicians to work hard and be consistent. He also added, “We are an Eastern nation and the performance is an intermediate link between the composer’s ideas and audience. To perform the work, the musician must be emotional and Armenians are very emotional. If the European should think of performing the work more emotional, then Armenians should think about managing the emotions. In short, emotionalism bursts in the East and consciousness is strong in the West. In both cases, we should not exceed the limit, it is very important, then comes the next: the style, time and peculiarities of the composer.”
Our interlocutor is proud to be a student of the 20th century’s greatest musician Leonid Kogan. He says that every meeting with his was a holiday. “Kogan even wanted me to become his second assistant but for my family reasons I had to stay in Yerevan and grew up to the head of the chair in Komitas State Conservatory. Then, my son became a student “abroad” and as he was alone in France, our family moved there,” says the violinist. He remembers that during the years of the Karabakh movement, he was in the first group of the Armenian artists who traveled to Karabakh. In 1987, at the concert of Baku organized by Moscow, he performed accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of Baku and specially selected Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto. He says that these were the times of disturbances but he could not counter and had to participate. He was the most invited musicians, he traveled throughout the USSR, from Sakhalin to the Baltic Republics but he had not been in Artsakh until 1988. He is sure that Azerbaijanis were doing everything that no Armenian artist enters Stepanakert.
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During our interview, they also touched upon the specificity of Armenian musicians, Hrachya Harutyunyan stated that for example, the 20th-century well-known violinist-methodologist Hovhannes Galamyan is remembered not only in Europe but also in Japan. Incidentally, the world famous violinists were Galamyan’s students, including Perlman, Zukerman, Chung Kyung, and the world’s most serious editorial for the works of greatest composers was Galamyan’s. Hrachya Harutyunyan also believes that culture, especially music, is the best business card for such a small country as Armenia to be introduced to the world. He remembers that during the Soviet years, the State Conservatory after Komitas in Yerevan was in the third place in the USSR by its staff and reputation, he regrets that it has a little stepped back in its position. The musician’s greatest desire is for Armenia to be recovered after the four-day war in April like Paris after the known terrorist attacks, he says that it is necessary to be stretched, continue to create and represent to the world with dignity.
Speaking of the titles awarded in Armenia, the musician brought his example, “I left Armenia when I was 46, I was quite a well-known violinist, I have had concerts all over the world but I did not have close-friendship relations with the leadership to award me a title. My friends were awarded titles for years but not I, while during those times, even turning on the iron, figuratively speaking, I was playing. In the end, when the Soviet Union was collapsing, they suggested to grant to a title, now, I did not want to have it. The ridiculous thing was that when a group was going to abroad to represent the country, they were sending me but not those who were awarded titles. And I, in fact, traveled all over the world without having the title of honored artist and I am very pleased.”
Gohar HAKOBYAN
Photo by the author “Aravot” daily
