PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Sahan Arzruni
215 East 80 Street, #LD, New York, NY 10021-0546
Vox/Fax: (212) 650-0956
E-mail: [email protected]
June 13, 2006
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ARMENIA MARKS 85 YEARS OF COMPOSER EDVARD MIRZOYAN WITH GALA CONCERT
The 85th birthday of composer Edvard Mirzoyan was celebrated in Yerevan~Rs
Komitas Chamber Music Auditorium on May 14, 2006, under the auspices of
Armenia~Rs Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs.
Attending the filled-to-capacity event was the Republic~Rs First Lady, Bella
Kocharian. The crowd of spectators stood by the walls and took seats on the
stage itself.
The program, conceived and organized by master pianist Sahan Arzruni,
featured cellist Medea Abramyan, soprano Nuné Patalyan, mezzo-soprano Anna
Mayilyan, and pianist Martin Vartazaryan. The concert also highlighted a
new work by Mirzoyan: ~SFour Chinese Songs,~T written in 2006.
In a ceremony prior to the concert, Mirzoyan was presented with several
medals and citations, including the ~SLeonardo da Vinci Medal~T from the
Italian Academy of Arts and Letters.
The musical program began with Mirzoyan~Rs ~SPoem,~T a work for solo piano
written to honor the 1971 graduation of the composer~Rs daughter, Zara.
~SAlbum for My Granddaughter,~T a 1984 commission by the French publishing
house Alphonse Leduc, was inspired by Mirzoyan~Rs granddaughter, Mariam, who
improvised the tune while dancing around her grandpa. Scores for both works
were recently made available by the Charentz Museum of Literature and Art of
Armenia.
The vocal works on display covered the entire span of Mirzoyan~Rs creative
life. ~SAsum en te~E,~T based on a text by Issahakian, was composed by an
18-year-old Mirzoyan in 1939. The melody of ~SVerhush,~T written in Dilijan
in 1977, inspired Armenia~Rs revered poet Silva Kaputikyan to compose lyrics
after the fact. Meditations on the seasons by poets of the Tang Dynasty
inspired Mirzoyan~Rs brief, lyrical ~SFour Chinese Songs,~T premiered by Anna
Mayilyan.
Two large-scale works for cello and piano were the centerpiece of the
concert. ~SPoem,~T written over a span of 10 years, is dedicated to Armenia~Rs
pre-eminent cellist, Medea Abramyan. The Sonata, composed for Mstislav
Rostropovich in 1967, was actually finished in Rostropovich~Rs Moscow
dacha~Wwhere the great cellist ~Simprisoned~T Mirzoyan so he could complete the
work. (A pirated recording of the piece~Rs 1968 premiere in the Moscow
Conservatory~Rs Great Hall features stunning performances by Rostropovich and
Mirzoyan.)
The evening concluded with four-handed arrangements of two of Mirzoyan~Rs
most popular works, ~SWaltz~T and ~SLezginka,~T performed by the
Vartazaryan-Arzruni team.
The event was recorded and broadcast by Armenian State Television.
–6/7/06
E-mail photos available on request.
(1) PHOTO CAPTION: The 85th birthday of composer Edvard Mirzoyan was
celebrated in Yerevan, with a concert organized under the auspices of
Armenia~Rs Ministry of Culture and Youth Affairs. Pictured on the stage of
the Komitas Chamber Music Auditorium is Edvard Mirzoyan (at the microphone),
and (proceeding rightward) guest artists Martin Vartazaryan, Sahan Arzruni,
Nune Patalyan, program host Mr. Armen Budaghyan, Medea Abramyan and Anna
Mayilyan.
(2) PHOTO CAPTION: 85-year-old Armenian composer Edvard Mirzoyan with master
pianist Sahan Arzruni, who conceived and organized the May 14 birthday
tribute to the eminent composer.
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