By Gourgen Khazhakian
As a release of the Moscow International Music House (MIMH) says, on February 8, 2017 there will be a concert of the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia (NPOR, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Vladimir Spivakov) that will be conducted by the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia (GMOA) Sergey Smbatyan. This, of course, is a great success for the young conductor ’cause, in fact, the NPOR is the main orchestra of Russia created by Vladimir Putin‘s personal order. (To note, at the scenes of MIMH stars such as Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Jessye Norman, Kiri Te Kanawa, Dennis Matsuev, Alexei Kozlov, Oleg Tabakov, Alla Demidova and others have appeared, and its President is world renowned Vladimir Spivakov).
Here is what is said in a MIMH release on our compatriot, “For the first time NPOR will be conducted by 29-year-old Sergey Smbatyan, creator of unique ensembles, – Youth Orchestra of Armenia, the UNICEF Children’s Orchestra and the World Orchestra 24/04. Sergey Smbatyan is an outstanding personality, a bright talent. At age 13 he became a laureate of several international violin competitions in Japan, Romania and Italy, he began performing as a soloist with the best orchestras in the world.
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He graduated from Yerevan and Moscow Conservatories with the Excellence diploma, then the Royal Academy of Music in London. In 2005, at age 18, he founded and headed the Youth Orchestra of Armenia that three years later received the state status. In the summer of 2016 Sergey Smbatyan won the International Competition “Debut in the Berlin Philharmony”, thus received the right to play with the Berliner Symphoniker in this distinguished audience. In the fall of 2015 Smbatyan for the first time conducted Vladimir Spivakov’s “Moscow Virtuosi” Chamber Orchestra; with NPOR he plays for the first time. “
The concert program includes “The Isle of the Dead” symphonic poem and the First Piano Concerto of Rachmaninov, as well as “Scheherazade” symphonic suite by Rimsky-Korsakov. Soloist in the Piano Concerto is Yekaterina Mechetina, laureate of international competitions, the winner of the Youth “Triumph” Award, a member of the Culture and Arts Council under the President of Russia, holder of the Catherine the Great III degree Order “For Merits and Great Personal Contribution to the Development of National Culture and Art.”
As we’ve already reported, on 21, 22, 23 and 26 October Sergey Smbatyan conducted the orchestra within the framework of literary evenings by world famous Hollywood actor John Malkovich held in Argentina.
