OSAKA, Japan (The Strad)—The Aizuri Quartet (U.S), featuring Canadian-Armenian cellist Karen Ouzounian, has won first prize, worth 3 million JPY ($27,000 USD), in the string quartet section of the Ninth Osaka International Chamber Music Competition in Japan.
The triennial event took place May 13-21 in the string quartet and wind ensemble categories, which ran alongside masterclasses, concerts, and an informal Festa, with no age or repertoire restrictions.
Second prize in the string quartet division, worth 1.5 million JPY went to the Ulysses Quartet from the U.S., while third prize, worth one million JPY went to the Viano String Quartet, also from the U.S.
This year’s jury was chaired by cellist Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi and included violinists Martin Beaver, Kazuki Sawa and Levon Chilingirian; violists Yoshiko Kawamoto and Homggang Li; and cellist Paul Katz.
Third prize winner at the 2015 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition in London, the Aizuri Quartet comprises violinists Miho Saegusa and Ariana Kim, violist Ayane Kozasa, and cellist Karen Ouzounian. The ensemble was Ernst Stiefel String Quartet in Residence at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts from 2015 to 2016, and String Quartet in Residence at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia from 2014 to 2016.
Described as “radiant” and “expressive” (The New York Times) and “nothing less than gorgeous” (Memphis Commercial Appeal), cellist Karen Ouzounian approaches music-making with a deeply communicative and passionate spirit. At home in diverse musical settings, she has become increasingly drawn towards unusual collaborations and eclectic contemporary repertoire.
In addition to her work with the Aizuri Quartet, Ouzounian’s commitment to adventurous programming and the collaborative process has led to her membership in the Grammy-nominated, self-conducted chamber orchestra A Far Cry, and the critically-acclaimed new music collective counter)induction. Highlights of Ouzounian’s recent and upcoming seasons include performances of the Elgar Concerto in Chile with the Philharmonic Orchestra of Santiago, tours with the Silk Road Ensemble and Mark Morris Dance Group, recitals at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts with pianist Ieva Jokubaviciute, a tour of Japan with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and tours with Musicians from Marlboro and Musicians from Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute. Additionally she has performed with The Knights, Trio Cavatina, and as guest principal of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, IRIS Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia.
Born to Armenian parents in Toronto, Ouzounian was a prizewinner at the 2012 Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank Competition. She holds Master of Music and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School, where she was a student of Timothy Eddy.
FC Ararat Moscow has signed former Spurs forward Roman Pavlyuchenko.
According to Championat.com, Pavlyuchenko has joined the new Moscow-based club on a one-year deal.
Established as a third-tier club in 2017, Ararat has received a license to play in the second league and hopes to play in the Russian Premier League next season. “Other options are not even being considered,” the club’s Vice-President Andranik Keropyan told the website.
The forward was a staple of Tottenham’s forward-line between 2008 and 2011.
Since leaving North London at the end of the 2010-11 season, Pavlyuchenko has turned out for a handful of relatively well-known clubs, such as Lokomotiv Moscow, Kuban Krasnodar and Ural.
The 35-year-old has been a free-agent since leaving Ural at the end of last season.
Agence France Presse
Wednesday 10:10 AM GMT
TOPSHOTS Iran TV uses green screen to bypass headscarf rules
Tehran,
For Iranian viewers sitting down for this year's primetime historical
drama during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, there was a shock: you
could see women's hair.
The director's trick: popping across the border to neighbouring
Armenia to film women without headscarves in front of a "green screen"
and then super-imposing them into the background of Iranian scenes.
"This is a technical achievement for our cinema and television that
can be of service in future," director Jalil Saman said in Wednesday's
Haft-e Sobh newspaper.
The month of Ramadan, which started on Saturday, is always a showcase
for high-profile TV serials and this year it is Saman's "Nafas" (or
"Breath"), about a nurse being dragged into the revolutionary tumult
of the late 1970s, that has garnered the most attention.
Iranian TV can show foreign films with unscarved women -- although too
much leg or cleavage gets blurred out or hidden behind a digitally
inserted object such as a lamp.
But local programmes must normally abide by strict rules in which no
female hair can be shown, even for historical dramas or scenes set in
a family home where real-life women do not cover their heads.
Saman said it would have been absurd to show everyone in a headscarf
since the show is set before the Islamic revolution of 1979 when women
were free to wear whatever they wanted.
Shows set during that period are usually "ruined", he told Haft-e
Sobh, because they cannot show how things really looked.
"They give the impression that Islam was followed more before the
revolution than today," he said.
"We have only shown a part of how it was before the revolution but
some cannot even tolerate this."
Saman said he was refused permission by the censors to use actresses
in wigs, a trick used for several high-profile shows in the past.
The other popular option -- having women in hats with scarves wrapped
around their ears and neck -- was "ridiculous" he added.
So instead Saman turned to "green screening", in which actresses are
filmed in front of a green background that can be digitally removed
and the character inserted into other scenes.
Iranian film-makers must obtain three separate authorisations: for the
script, filming and release.
But the authorities admit that a majority of Iranians now own a
satellite dish -- even though they are technically illegal -- beaming
in uncensored programming from all over the world.
It is part of the steady erosion of strict Islamic rules -- in
practice, if not in theory -- that has also seen headscarves pushed
further and further back, especially in wealthier parts of Tehran.
President Hassan Rouhani won a resounding re-election victory this
month, promising a further easing of social restrictions, although he
faces considerable opposition from the clerical establishment.
neg-er/kir
In January-March 2017, 1 298 533 tourists arrived in Armenia, which is a 18.2% increase compared to the same period of 2016.
From January to March 2017 tourist departures from Armenia rose by 17.1% to 266 324 people to compare with the same period of the previous year.
According to the reports by hotel facilities, 26.1% of tourists visited Armenia from the CIS countries, 14.2% – from the EU countries and 59.7% – from other states.
Prominent Armenian chansonnier Charles Aznavour announced on Thursday about the establishment of Aznavour foundation and its first project of Charles Aznavour interactive House Museum launched in Yerevan. The House Museum will seek to preserve the global heritage of the Maestro and realize social and cultural programmes.
The solemn ceremony of the key handover ceremony was attended by Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, who handed over the symbolic key of the Museum to Aznavour.
“It is great honor for me to be here and receive the keys of the House Museum, this culture center. I am immensely thankful for this generous gift. I made the decision to set up Aznavour foundation with my son Nikola with great confidence to continue my benevolent activity coming since 1988,” Aznavour said in his remarks.
Armenian President in his turn stated: “We are happy to be your contemporaries and regularly enjoy your art and your performances. In fact, you are performing rather than signing on the stage, since every song of yours is a full-fledged artistic performance.”
“Aznavour is a legend, a walking legend, which belongs not only to France, Armenia and the Armenian people, but to the whole humanity. The Armenian-French relations are interconnected by thousands of ties and the proof of that is that the last three presidents of France – Jacques Chirac, Nicolas Sarkozy and François Hollande – have visited Armenia. François Hollande has paid three visits to Armenia; twice as the President of France. I do hope that this tradition will be upheld by President-elect Emmanuel Macron, and together with you, dear Maestro, we will host him in this house-museum,” the President added.
Scientists from Armenia and Germany held a workshop on May 23-24 in Nor Amberd, Byurakan, Armenia. (Photo: A. Alikhanyan National Laboratory)
BYURAKAN, Armenia—The first workshop on common scientific interests in the physical sciences between Armenia and the State of Brandenburg, Germany, (ARBRA 2017) was held on May 23-24 in Nor Amberd, Byurakan, Armenia.
German scientists from Deutsches Elektronensynchrotron (DESY), German Research Centre for Geosciences, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics and Potsdam University, together with the Brandenburg Minister of Science and Culture, Martina Münch, the lord mayor of Potsdam, Jann Jakobs, the German Ambassador to Armenia Matthias Kiesler and representatives from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) met about 30 Armenian scientists from Yerevan Physics Institute, Byurakan Observatory and the Institute of Geology of the National Academy of Science of Armenia, the representatives from the Armenian Ministries of Science and Education and the State Committee of Science. The aim of the workshop was to present existing cooperation, explore common scientific interests, and discuss potential future projects.
This workshop was inspired by a recent letter of intent, signed by the Brandenburg Minister of Science, Research and Culture and the Armenian Minister for Culture, with the goal of strengthening relations. A number of potential future projects were presented at the workshop. After the workshop, participants will pursue the collaborative projects.
Michel Mayor: Armenia should develop astrobiology Michel Mayor
Yerevan/Mediamax/. Discoverer of the first extrasolar planet, Professor Michel Mayor is currently visiting Armenia.On May 31, he will conduct a public lecture at the National Academy of Sciences of Armenia, to be followed by the first ever workshop “Extrasolar planets and astrobiology” in Armenia.
Prof. Mayor met with journalists on May 30, ahead of the lecture, and shared his happiness from the fourth visit to Armenia. “I first came to Armenia 10 years ago and started discussions and partnerships.
Byurakan Observatory was always famous thanks to Victor Hambardzumyan, but life goes on and relevant scientific issues change.
The high level of astronomy in Armenia has been well-known in studies of active galaxies, star evolution, cosmology, and theoretical astrophysics.
The objective now is for Armenian astronomers to manage to learn new, developing areas, and work in them. A very relevant issue today is that of extrasolar planets, so it would be good if we cooperate in that area,” Michel Mayor said.
The astrophysicist believes there are two areas for collaboration. According to him, first they need to get acquired with Armenia’s technical capacities and find possible methods for the country to conduct exoplanet search.
Another way of cooperation, as Prof. Mayor sees it, should be trying to develop astrobiology in Armenia via collaboration of astronomers and biologists.Michel Mayor participated in the Joint European and National Astronomy Meeting that took place in 2007in Armenia.
In 2010, he was awarded Victor Hambardzumyan International Prize together with Garik Israelian and Nunu Santos. Michel Mayor is a member of the Board of Trustees of Victor Hambardzumyan Education Foundation, Byurakan Astrophysical Observatory International Science Advisory Committee, and Armenian Astronomical Society.
Review: Apricot Stone, fresh Middle Eastern fare with a Syrian twist
The Aleppo-born chef at this BYOB was serving hummus decades before it became a Stateside food group.
Adam Erace
· 9:00 am
Fimy Ishkhanian is Syrian and not. The chef-owner of Apricot Stone, a cozy 16-month-old Middle Eastern BYOB in Northern Liberties, was born to refugees of the Armenian genocide in 1958 in Aleppo, where “our community was set up so Armenians had everything we needed: Armenian schools, churches, restaurants, mechanics,” Ishkhanian recalled. It was so self-sufficient and tightly knit, “there were even some Armenians who didn’t speak Arabic.”
Ishkhanian does speak Arabic, as well as Armenian, English, Turkish and French, which she picked up in Canada after moving to Toronto with her brother when he joined the US Army in 1973. She met her husband there and relocated to Philadelphia in 1981, where she opened Fimy’s Kitchen, a Main Line Middle Eastern deli, and, inadvertently, a chickpea school.
“We were educating people on what hummus was everyday,” remembered Ishkhanian’s son, Ara, who grew up in the business, doing his homework there after school and working the cash register on the weekends. “We were probably one of five stores you could buy hummus from in Philadelphia.”
Yeah, things have changed. In America, where hummus has become a major food group. And in Syria, a country dealing with genocide again.
Danya Henninger / Billy Penn
Fimy’s Kitchen was pioneering: A woman-owned, immigrant-owned business selling hummus and its meze mates to suburban Philadelphians in the pre-Zahav — hell, the pre-Sabra — era. Ishkhanian grew her business to include a robust catering operation, but closed in 2007, when the historic indoor market in which she operated shut down. She and her husband, Hagop, moved back to Toronto, while Ara finished his degree in business management and entrepreneurship at Temple, confident in a future culinary opportunity. “I knew my mom’s talent potential was untapped,” he said.
Now, Ara and his parents are partners in Apricot Stone, where six nights a week, 59-year-old Ishkhanian cooks food that, like her, is Syrian and not.
Danya Henninger / Billy Penn
Armenian family recipes passed down through female generations are layered over the vibrant, multiethnic tableau of Middle Eastern culinary tradition. So there’s smooth, nutty hummus and smoky, creamy baba ghanoush, of course, but unlike at a Greek or Israeli or Turkish restaurant, Ishkhanian’s purees are freckled with fruity-hot Aleppo pepper, the famous export of her hometown. Midnight-green dried mint and madzoon, the lush Armenian fermented-milk yogurt, makes her lebni and jahjuk distinct from other nations’ labneh and tzatziki. The details make the difference, literally.
Apricot Stone’s menu, available for take-out as well as dine-in, is divided into cold and hot appetizers, salads, sandwiches and plates, all of which comes with rice, a choice of dip and salad and white or wheat pita from Soumaya & Sons, a well-known Lebanese bakery in Allentown. (Day-old pitas are turned into chips that beg to be sold by the bag.) The lamb kebab plate, starring skewers of domestic Lancaster leg cubes marinated with parsley, onion, black and red pepper, are the most expensive item on the menu — at $16. These overall low prices make inconsistencies easier to swallow. The lamb was perfectly cooked one night, overcooked another.
Danya Henninger / Billy Penn
Northern Liberties residents seem hip to Apricot’s value, packing the dining room in googly-eyed twosomes, multigenerational family gatherings and work-related get-togethers on both my visits. Warm energy pervades the space, which is not something people say often about the Piazza-adjacent Liberties Walk development, where tenant turnover is high and restaurants often struggle. A downside to the crowds: Service can be brusque. One busy night, while we ordered and asked questions, my server rattled her pen against her pad like she was auditioning for the role of a diner waitress stereotype.
Fortunately, enough familial warmth comes through in the cooking.
With the kebabs — in addition to the lamb, I had the halal chicken and the ground-beef luleh (it’s similar to Turkish kofte) — Ishkhanian isn’t working within the lavish spice collection of Zahav, or even the agreeably loudmouthed cilantro-acid marinades of Kanella Grill, but she still turns out something flavorful and delicious. There’s a nakedness to her canon. There’s not much to hide behind.
Danya Henninger / Billy Penn
As a general guide, you’re good ordering anything with cheese. The flaky boreg (borek) triangles reveal creamy centers of melted mozzarella, tangy farmer’s cheese and an Armenian cheese Ishkhanian makes in house. (The all-feta spanakopita is good, too, but if you have to pick one cheesy phyllo thing, it should be the boreg.) The “Mediterranean grilled cheese” features the same fresh cheese, layered inside a pita with mint, caraway and Aleppo pepper, then cooked in an olive oiled pan till crispy. It will make you wonder what the hell kind of sad grilled cheese your parents fed you growing up. I’m also in love with the assertive muhamara, a vermilion paste of roasted peppers and walnuts bound with lip-smacking pomegranate molasses. (This one doesn’t have cheese, but don’t hold that against it.)
Don’t miss the viscous Armenian coffee, which is brewed in a traditional jazzve stovetop carafe and depending on the blend Ishkhanian sources from her Canadian contacts, sometimes contains a hint of cardamom. Coffee and a square of not-too-sweet baklava is a fine way to end a meal. The other desserts deserve better than the plastic deli containers in which they’re served. Cinnamon, pistachio and a touch of orange blossom water infuse the wonderful rice pudding. The anoush is a thick, earthy vegan wheat porridge studded with raisins and — the restaurant’s namesake — apricots.
Ara shares a story about the name: “A few years ago the singer Eva Rivas competed in the Eurovision song contest representing Armenia. Her song title was ‘Apricot Stone,’ and the meaning is if you take the pit and plant it even when you are far away from your home, you will be returned back to your roots.”
In a way that’s what Fimy Ishkhanian has spent her professional career doing. Philly is richer for it.
Danya Henninger / Billy Penn
apricotstonephilly.com @apricotstonePHL / @apricotstonephilly / Apricot Stone 1040 North American St., 267-606-6595 Dinner Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday Price: $$*
Executive Chef: Fimy Ishkhanian Owners: Fimy, Hagop and Ara Ishkhanian General Manager: Ara Ishkhanian Sous Chef: Manik A. Line Cook: Hovsep H. Servers: Anie A., Taline D.
The European Individual Chess Championship (men) has launched in Minsk, Belarus. The chess tournament, which is held in 11-round Swiss system, involves 398 participants.
As Panorama.am was informed from the official website of the Armenian National Olympic Committee, 19 chess players represent Armenian in the tournament. 10 Armenian players have already claimed victories at Round 1 of the European Championship.
The best 22 chess players will be qualified for the World Cup.
With its story of a love triangle between a strong-minded American nurse, a rugged Ottoman soldier and a zealous American doctor, it would be easy to classify “The Ottoman Lieutenant” as a classical romance set in a picturesque Anatolian town at the dawn of World War I. Yet the film, which takes place in the Turkish city of Van — a scene of bloodshed between Turks and Armenians — has been the cause of wide controversy both in the West and Turkey.
Despite the attention it has received in the media due to its subject matter, the film has not done well at the local box office, totaling 41,578 viewers so far.
The Turkish-American co-production, directed by Joseph Ruben and written by Jeff Stockwell, stars Academy Award-winning actor Ben Kingsley, Josh Hartnett, Hera Hilmar and Michiel Huisman along with Turkish actors Haluk Bilginer and Selcuk Yontem.
Set in Turkey’s eastern province of Van in 1914, it's a love story between American nurse Lillie (Hera Hilmar) and a Turkish lieutenant, Ismail Veli (Michiel Huisman). American doctor Jude (Josh Hartnett), the reason Lillie came to Van’s hospital in the first place, is also in love with her. The tense triangle comes across in several scenes such as the two men’s fistfight at the hospital over Lillie’s honor and an angry clash of words over ethics as Jude accuses the Ottoman Empire of being an accomplice to the killing of “Christians” by doing nothing to protect them.
Subtle political messages are abundant in the film. When asked to stop the Armenians' rebellion against the Ottoman Empire by his superior, Col. Halil (played by Haluk Bilginer), Veli asks, “How are we to know who are rebels and who are villagers?” Halil replies, “The rebels are the ones firing at you.”
According to one of the film’s Turkish producers, Yusuf Esenkal, in an April 15 interview with the state-run Anatolia News Agency, the film could be called the first Turkish film in Hollywood. He described the film as classic love story, saying, “There is a common pain — and that pain is war.” Stephen Brown, one of the film's producers who will work with Esenkal on another film about the medieval poet Rumi, said he wanted to give an objective account of the common suffering of both Turks and Armenians. "We wanted to show the audience what happened during World War I in Eastern Anatolia, a subject that has not been handled before," he said.
Its reception in the West has been marked by controversy, and terms like “revisionist” and “denialist” have been thrown around. “The Ottoman Lieutenant” was compared to “The Promise,” another recently released film on a similar topic but told from the opposite perspective. “Battle over 2 Films Reflects Turkey’s Quest to Control a Bitter History,” reported The New York Times. The Hollywood Reporter saw the two films as a “battle over the Armenian genocide.”
Back in Turkey, reactions have been mixed. Pro-government newspapers have shown unwavering support of the film, which presents the Armenian “deportation” as reasonable and necessary.
Serdar Akbiyik from the pro-government Star daily describes “The Ottoman Lieutenant” as a love and action film set in the time of “Armenian deportation,” but without pretensions of broad statements regarding historical events. He explains 1915 Turkey as follows: “Think of a country stabbed in the back by a minority that for hundreds of years was considered brotherly — eating, drinking together. … This minority and enemy armies would slaughter the people of the region, and then when the wind turned would pay the price for what they had done, and 100 years later still try to take revenge.”
Ali Saydam from pro-government Yeni Safak took a similar position in his column. Calling the movie a truly professional work, he said that it highlights “the official Turkish understanding of history” on an international scale through cinema. Saydam also emphasized the aggressive political outrage of Armenian lobby groups prior to and during the film’s release in the United States.
Respected Turkish film critic Atilla Dorsay said he found the film "impartial and honest, without maligning any particular camp and leaving little room for objection" but "pretty close to our national views.” However, he expressed astonishment that the famous church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van was briefly mentioned in passing and its beautiful murals were not shown. According to Dorsay, it could have been a powerful message, particularly for Western viewers, to show them and say, “Even in those complicated times, we saved these treasures.”
Other Turkish critics found the film too faithful to the Turkish narrative. Senay Aydemir from the leftist Gazete Duvar panned the film from both political and cinematic angles. Aydemir, who doesn’t shy from using the word “genocide” to describe the events of 1915, slammed the film as devoid of feelings, consistency and narrative tempo. Aydemir cynically described a scene in which Veli saves 20 Armenians from another “evil-hearted” Ottoman lieutenant and lambasted the film's light tone and thin plot that completely omits historical points of interest, such as the political context that led to the Ottoman Empire's decision to deport the Armenians. He also criticized the film's blaming of the Russians for provoking Turkish-Armenian enmity, ignoring the roles played by Germany and the UK.
The plot and actors' performance also got a dose of Turkish criticism: Hurriyet's Ugur Vardan described the story as weak and not believable. He called the performance of Hera Hilmar “expressionless” and Josh Hartnett's “mediocre.” Burak Goral of the secularist Sozcu mocked the censoring of kissing scenes in the version of the film shown in Turkish theaters: “As if an Ottoman lieutenant’s kiss on the mouth of a beloved Christian woman would spoil our Turkishness or our faith!”
Clearly, the film hasn’t found much acclaim in the box office or among critics. Yet it may still be valuable as a depiction of the common Turkish perspective on the deadly Armenian “deportation,” defined by many in the West as genocide.