Author: Babajanian Karo

A ‘HAPPENING’ OF ART, MUSIC AND DANCE AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
by Robert Battey

The Washington Post
May 21, 2012 Monday

-Narek Hakhnazaryan

Washington is fortunate to get regular visits from Armenian cello
phenom Narek Hakhnazaryan, whose gold medal at last year’s Tchaikovsky
Competition added to a bulging trophy case. He has appeared here
at least five times in recent seasons, and his recital on Saturday
afternoon at the Library of Congress drew a vociferously appreciative
audience.

Hakhnazaryan’s gifts on the instrument are manifest; his sound can
turn from orotund power to a gossamer whisper in an instant, and
he undertakes risky (but more expressive) fingerings with complete
security. His intonation is mostly excellent, although it can drift
when he plays fortissimo. His facility and clarity with the instrument
are astonishing, and he attends carefully to the connections between
notes, creating singing lines of satisfying logic.

In short, Hakhnazaryan is a complete cellist. Is he a complete
musician? Only 24, one would expect and hope for growth. This
should begin with his repertoire; of the six works on the program,
only one was by a composer who wasn’t born between 1810 and 1840 –
and, if memory serves, past programs here were similar. This will
not do for much longer. He is at the level where he’ll be compared
with Weilerstein, Capucon and Gerhardt; offering Armenian folk-song
arrangements as encores does not count as “range.”

As an interpretive artist, Hakhnazaryan is a work in progress; a year
ago, he was a student at the New England Conservatory, and it might
take time to develop his personal voice. It’s fine to be transported by
the music, as his performing demeanor often indicates, but top-level
artists do more than react to the music – they re-create it and say
something fresh and individual through it. There is nothing standing
in this young virtuoso’s way; with further experience and mentoring
(life and musical), more chamber music and taking time to reflect
about what he has to say, the sky’s the limit.

GLOBE TO GLOBE: AS YOU LIKE IT, SHAKESPEARE’S GLOBE
by Tom Birchenough

The Arts Desk

May 22 2012
UK

Superb Caucasian ensemble playing in Georgia’s Forest of Arden

In the Globe to Globe season, the Caucasus is proving as fruitful a
ground as any for new views on old texts. Georgia’s Marjanishvili
company, under director Levan Tsuladze, proved the region has a
special style with their version of As You Like It, no less strongly
than Armenia’s King John had a couple of days earlier.

Tsuladze emphasised the ensemble nature of the action, using a small
front stage space, and keeping actors on stage in the wings most of
the time. It’s played almost as a play within a play, complete with
stage curtain for the court scenes, before we move into the forest,
where the action became distinctly Chekhovian, giving an interesting
melancholic counterpoint to the elements of circus, slapstick, music
(both live, acapella choruses, and recorded) and the like that spoke
so embracingly.

It took itself very lightly, and I felt simply that this cast of 14,
with plenty of doubling (the bad duke being the good duke), were actors
deeply at home with this text. The cross-casting worked outstandingly,
with the Jaques of actress Nata Murvanidze just right, and especially
powerful in interchanges with Adam, also female (Ketevan Tskhakaia),
who brought out an almost erotic quality in his/her interaction with
Orlando (Nika Kuchava). This was no effete youg “juve”, but actually a
bit of a dolt who had some growing up to do, and you could understand
why this Orlando won the wrestling.

Ketevan Shatirishvili as Rosalind and Nato Kakhidze as Celia gabbled
at more than 90 words a minute in their scenes that are sometimes
played slowly and portentously.

The cast raced its way through the action with zest, hilarity,
celebration, and often self-conscious campness (Onise Oniani as Le
Beau stole the show whenever onstage). Design was loosely 19th century,
initially in early scenes dominated by greys and white, moving in later
scenes into more vivid colours; an on-stage promptress struggling to
keep the company in the right place was resminiscent most of all of
a train conductress from the good old days of British Rail.

The smiling was there aplenty, but there were sighs too. The closing
weddings were played among leaves – autumn, presumably – exquisitely
crafted artificial ones from Tbilisi. It’s an oak forest rather than a
cherry orchard, but Chekhov would have approved. Jaques may have been
briefly bundled away into a cupboard at the play’s happy conclusion,
but his view of life – the seven ages soliloquy communicated perfectly
regardless of language understanding, to side-stage characters,
rather than to the audience – spoke strongly. Not everything was
right in the wider sense in this Georgian Arden. But how right it
was to find it on the Globe stage.

ARMENIAN GAY PRIDE PARADE, EXHIBITION DISRUPTED

Interfax
May 22 2012
Russia

Yerevan, May 22, Interfax – A group of young nationalists disrupted
plans to hold a parade and exhibition under the “Cultural Diversity”
motto by representatives of non-traditional sexual orientation
on Monday.

The group of youths, shouting “these faggots” and “no to
homosexuality,” would not let gay activists hold the demonstration.

Clashes ensued, forcing the organizers had to hide in the House of
Artists building, an Interfax correspondent said.

Police tried to stop clashes between youths and participants of the
so-called gay pride parade.

The event is organized by PINK chairman Mamikon Ovsepian. Activists had
also planned to hand our minorities’ information leaflets to passersby.

ARMENIAN LEADER SKIPS NATO SUMMIT OVER DECLARATION WORDS ON KARABAKH

ITAR-TASS
May 21, 2012 Monday 12:54 PM GMT+4

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan skipped the NATO summit that took
place in Chicago over the wording of the North-Atlantic Alliance’s
draft declaration in relation to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict
settlement, which is unacceptable for Armenia, Foreign Minister Edward
Nalbandian said at the meeting with Chicago’s Armenian Diaspora.

The draft declaration contained a common wording about protracted
regional conflicts in South Caucasus and the Republic of Moldova,
he said. Yerevan believes that the Nagorno Karabakh conflict differs
from other conflicts and requires special approaches to the settlement.

“Despite some changes made as compared to the document of the previous
NATO summit in Lisbon, this wording contradicts approaches of co-chairs
of the OSCE Minsk Group, who have its mediator mandate for the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement,” the minister said adding that the
presidents of the United States, Russia and France have repeatedly
expressed this position.

“This wording contradicts the statements and decisions that had been
adopted of late within the framework of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe,” “it may not only damage the negotiation
process on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, but may also
threaten the region’s fragile situation,” Nalbandian said.

“Taking into account these concerns the Armenian leader decided not
to attend the Chicago summit,” he said.

FAAE TO URGE COUNTRIES TO CRIMINALIZE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE FACT DENIAL

/ARKA/
22 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, May 22. /ARKA/. The Forum of Armenian Associations of Europe
(FAAE) will call on all those countries which have already recognized
the fact of Armenian genocide in Ottoman Empire to criminalize the
denial of this fact, Ashot Grigoryan, head of FAAE, said Tuesday at
a news conference.

“We’ll urge all these countries to follow Slovakia’s example,” he
said. “This is only one of the steps we intend to take by the 100th
anniversary of Armenian Genocide.”

Slovakian Parliament passed this unprecedented bill on September
1, 2009.

Under this law, those denying the genocide fact in Slovakia’s territory
will face a five-year term.

Grigoryan also said that FAAE will convene a congress to discuss
preparations to mark the first centennial of Armenian Genocide.

Armenian genocide was the first genocide committed in XX century.

Turkey rejects the accusation of massacres and the killing of one
and a half million Armenians during World War I.

The fact of the Armenian genocide is recognized by many countries,
particularly by Uruguay, Russia, France, Lithuania, most of the U.S.

states, as well as by the parliaments of Greece, Cyprus, Argentina,
Belgium, Wales, National Council of Switzerland, Common House of
Canada, the Seym of Poland and lower house of Italian parliament.

DELEGATION OF FEDERATION COUNCIL OF RUSSIA VISITS DEFENSE MINISTRY OF ARMENIA

ARMENPRESS
22 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 22, ARMENPRESS: Within the framework of the visit of
the delegation of the Russian Federation Council Defense and Security
Committee to Armenia, meetings have been held May 22 in the Defense
Ministry.

Defense Ministry press service told Armenpress that Defense Minister
of Armenia Seyran Ohanyan and Chief of the General Staff of the
Armenian Armed Forces Colonel-General Yuri Khachaturov have received
the delegation. Issues on the conditions and activity of the Russian
military base located in Armenia, etc have been discussed.

MELIK-SHAHNAZARYAN: THREAT TO ARMENIA IS ALSO THREAT TO CSTO

Panorama.am
22/05/2012

Any threat to Armenia is also considered a threat to CSTO, political
scientist Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told reporters in Yerevan,
commenting on the statement by CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha
saying that CSTO states will unequivocally support Armenia in case
of hostile actions against it.

According to the expert, “a threat to Armenia is also a threat to CSTO,
with the organization being a conflict party if Armenia undergoes
military aggression.”

“I think Nikolay Bordyuzha’s statement as well as CSTO military drills
in Armenia are a signal to Azerbaijan that Armenia is in the focus of
attention of CSTO states which are determined to protect the interests
of their ally,” said Melik-Shahnazaryan.

“Armenia is a full-fledged member of CSTO, and CSTO states will
unequivocally support Armenia in case of hostile actions against it,”
organization’s Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha said during the
Yerevan-Moscow-Kiev-Astana-Kishinev space bridge Monday, to explain
CSTO’s stance on NK issue.

ELECTION FUNDS AND DOLLAR RATE
Naira Hayrumyan

Story from Lragir.am News:

Published: 15:49:53 – 23/05/2012

In the past few months the rate of the U.S. dollar grew by 20-25. The
dollar has crossed the psychological line of 400 drams. Moreover,
yesterday an unprecedented number of deals were made with the total
amount of 20 million dollars. The usual amount is 5 million, maximum
8 million dollars.

Experts explain this growth by emission of a huge dram amount in new
banknotes which would inevitably lower the rate of the dram.

The growing rate of the dollar explains the 7.2% growth of economic
activity in Armenia compared with the same period of the past year.

The growth is calculated in drams but in the dollar rate, and if it
is recalculated by the dollar rate of the past year, there will be
no economic growth.

The government must be accountable for this economic policy. The
growing rate of the dollar favors exports but if no restraints are
imposed, we will undergo another wave of inflation.

We will have to pay for the elections from our own pocket.

THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF ARMENIA CONGRATULATES THE BIRTHDAY OF CHARLES AZNAVOUR

ARMENPRESS
23 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS: President Serzh Sargsyan sent a
congratulatory message to the world famous Armenian French singer
Charles Aznavour’s on his birthday. Presidential press service informed
Armenpress that the President wished him good health and boundless
energy in the art, as well as in social and political activities.

‘~R Thanks to your respectable investment in the music world you have
been ranked as one of the greatest artists of the world.

I once again congratulate you and wish you to live longer, and share
with your thousands of fans your vital energy’~R the congratulatory
message runs.

SERZH SARGSYAN ADDRESSED A MASSAGE TO THE PARTICIPANTS OF BSEC PA SESSION IN YEREVAN

ARMENPRESS
23 May, 2012
YEREVAN

YEREVAN, MAY 23, ARMENPRESS: Armenia is sure that only with the help
of increasing regional cooperation, opening closed borders it is
possible to reach mutual trust which will be the basis for solving
all problems peacefully and with the help of compromises. Armenpress
reports that about this mentioned President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan
in his massage addressed to the 39-th session of Parliamentary Assembly
of Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. The massage presented
the chief of staff of President’s office Vigen Sargsyan.

“The establishment of inter-parliamentary dialogue has an important
role for spreading fundamental values and forming atmosphere of mutual
trust. All that helps with establishing regional full cooperation to
reach continual peace and stability” is mentioned in the massage of
the President.

Serzh Sargsyan assured that the members of the organization are united
by common goals which are directed to deepening of political dialogue,
increasing of trade and economic relations, securing the welfare of
our nations. “Armenia will continue to take steps in direction of
deepening that cooperation and will greet any initiative directed
to forming atmosphere of mutual trust in the region. The discussions
of the session are dedicated to most actual themes: stable economic
development, ecology, social demands of population, securing state
support to private business” is mentioned in the massage.

The leader of the country also stressed the importance of the role
of parliamentary diplomacy in the development of inter-state relations.

“Especially significant is its role in strengthening of democratic
principles, Human Rights protecting and ensuring the rule of law”.