Author: Baghdasarian Karlen

In Memoriam: RZ Zildjian, 1923-2013

Cymbal Honcho Dies at 89

TMZ.com
3/28/2013

By TMZ Staff

Robert ‘RZ’ Zildjian — the guy who founded the Sabian cymbal company
— died today at the age of 89 … TMZ has learned.

Zildjian was a titan in the music world — and was credited with
re-inventing the cymbal industry after leaving the business started by
his family, the Zildjian cymbal company.

According to reports, Zildjian singlehandedly grew Sabian into the 2nd
largest cymbal company in the world … only placing behind his
family’s business, which he helped run for years.

Basically, if you’ve ever played the drums … or know someone who has
… or have ever seen a live band perform … there’s a damn good
chance you’ve heard Robert’s work.

R.I.P.

From: Baghdasarian

Al `Bellini’ la bacchetta di Carminati e il violoncello di Hakhnazaryan

sabato 29 e domenica 30 al teatro massimo di catania

BlogSicilia (Palermo)
Musica
27 marzo 2013

di Redazione

Un’altra giovanissima medaglia d’oro al `Ciaikovskij’ di Mosca, il più
prestigioso dei premi musicali, sarà protagonista del prossimo
concerto sinfonico-corale, previsto per il week end della Settimana
Santa: venerdi 29 marzo alle ore 21 (turno A) e sabato 30 marzo alle
17,30 (turno B). Si tratta del violoncellista Narek Hakhnazaryan
(NELLA FOTO) impegnato, nella prima parte della serata, in un
programma di musiche di Piotr Ilic Ciaikovskij eseguito insieme
all’orchestra stabile del Teatro. Sul podio, il maestro Fabrizio Maria
Carminati (che proprio stasera dirigerà al `Bellini’ l’ultima recita
di Madama Butterfly) in sostituzione dell’indisposto Pier Giorgio
Morandi. Nel concerto, con un programma in tema con il clima e il
periodo pasquale, ci sarà spazio anche per il coro del Teatro Massimo
Bellini diretto da Tiziana Carlini, con i Quattro pezzi sacri di
Giuseppe Verdi che occuperanno l’intera seconda parte della serata.

Di Piotr Ilic Ciaikovskij (1840-1893) verranno eseguite le Variazioni
su un tema rococò per violoncello e orchestra, op. 33, pezzo del 1877
di rara bellezza e di enorme difficoltà esecutiva, nel quale il
virtuosismo e l’abilità stilistica del giovane violoncellista armeno,
`esploso’ appena un anno e mezzo fa con la clamorosa vittoria al
`Ciaikovskij’, sarà in grande evidenza.

Nella seconda parte del concerto, la musica di Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901) nell’anno del suo bicentenario della nascita. Il coro e
l’orchestra del `Bellini’ eseguiranno i Quattro pezzi sacri (Ave
Maria, Stabat Mater, Laudi alla Vergine Maria, Te Deum) che il
musicista di Busseto compose tra il 1889 e il 1896, senza un disegno
unitario, e la cui prima esecuzione (privata del primo pezzo) risale
al 1898 all’Opéra di Parigi. Assieme alla Messa da Requiem, i Quattro
pezzi sacri rappresentano la più alta testimonianza della religiositÃ
, seppure non convenzionale, di Giuseppe Verdi.

Il direttore Fabrizio Maria Carminati, diplomatosi in pianoforte sotto
la guida di Carlo Pestalozza, ha proseguito gli studi di composizione
a Milano con Vittorio Fellegara. Successivamente consegue il diploma
di direzione d’orchestra a pieni voti. Entra giovanissimo al Teatro
Regio di Torino dove esordisce come direttore d’orchestra con La
bohème. Dal 2000 al 2004 è stato direttore artistico del Teatro
Donizetti di Bergamo. Dal 2004 al 2006 è stato Direttore artistico
della Fondazione Arena di Verona. Di recente è stato nominato primo
direttore ospite e consigliere artistico dell’Orchestra dell’Opéra di
Marsiglia. Nel corso della sua carriera ha diretto in molti dei più
importanti teatri italiani ed europei.

Narek Hakhnazaryan è nato nel 1988 a Yerevan, in Armenia, da una
famiglia di musicisti: suo padre è violinista e sua madre
pianista. Descritto dal `Washington Post’ come un `talento
fenomenale’, Hakhnazaryan è apparso sulla scena internazionale dopo
aver vinto il Primo Premio e la Medaglia d’Oro al XIV Concorso
Internazionale Cajkovskij nel 2011. In seguito alla vittoria del
Concorso, ha debuttato con numerose importanti orchestre, tra cui
l’Orchestra Sinfonica di Londra diretta da Valery Gergiev alla
Barbican Hall, dove è stato descritto dal `Guardian’ come: `la stella
più brillante della serata … un violoncellista maturo, la cui
performance delle Variazioni su un tema rococò è stata di grande
carattere’. Narek Hakhnazarayan suona un violoncello David Tecchler
del 1698.

Tiziana Carlini, emiliana, è direttore stabile del Coro del Teatro
Massimo Bellini dal 1997. Nel 1988 ha conseguito il titolo di
Kapellmeister all’Accademia di alto perfezionamento di Graz
(Austria). Ha insegnato nei conservatori di Verona e Parma,
attualmente insegna al conservatorio di Santa Cecilia a Roma. Svolge
anche un’intensa attività come direttore d’orchestra.

Biglietti per entrambi i concerti sono ancora disponibili al
botteghino del teatro, prezzi da 14 a 33 euro. Infoline 095
7150921. Sito internet

Il successivo appuntamento con la Stagione Sinfonica del `Bellini’ è
previsto per il 5 aprileprossimo alle ore 21, quando il pubblico del
turno A potrà assistere ad un recital-evento del genio del pianista,
jazzista e compositore statunitense Uri Caine.

E.UR

____________________________________________
Translated from Italian to English using Bing Translator

Saturday 29 and Sunday 30 at teatro massimo di catania

The “Bellini” wand of Capricorn and the cello of Hakhnazaryan

BlogSicilia (Palermo,
Sicily)
Music
March 27, 2013

of Drafting

Another young gold medal at “Tchaikovsky” in Moscow, the most
prestigious music awards, will star next symphonic-choral concert,
scheduled for the weekend of Holy week: Friday 29 March at 21 hours
(round) and Saturday 30 March at 17.30 (turno B). This is the cellist
Narek Hakhnazaryan (pictured) , the first part of the evening, in a
program of music by Piotr Ilic Tchaikovsky performed with the
orchestra stabile del Teatro. On the podium, maestro Fabrizio Maria
Carminati (who tonight will lead to the “Bellini” l’Ultima recita of
Madama Butterfly) in place of the indisposed Pier Giorgio Morandi. In
concert, with a program on the subject with the climate and the Easter
period, there will be room for the choir of the Teatro Massimo Bellini
directed by Tiziana Carlini, with four pieces of Holy Giuseppe Verdi
that will occupy the entire second part of the evening.

By Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) will run the variations on a
Rococo theme for cello and orchestra, op. 33, 1877 piece of rare
beauty and huge Executive difficulties, in which the virtuosity and
stylistic skills of young Armenian cellist, “exploded” just a year and
a half ago with the resounding victory at the “Tchaikovsky”, will be
in great evidence.

In the second half of the concert, the music of Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901) in the year of the bicentenary of his birth. The choir and
the orchestra of the “Bellini” run the Quattro pezzi sacri (Ave Maria,
Stabat Mater, Laudi alla Vergine Maria, Te Deum) that the musician of
Busseto composed between 1889 and 1896, without a unitary design, and
whose first performance (the first private) dates back to 1898 at
theOpéra in Paris. Together with the Requiem Mass, the Four sacred
pieces represent the highest testimony of religiosity, albeit
unconventional, by Giuseppe Verdi.

The Director Fabrizio Maria Carminati, graduated in piano under the
guidance of Charles Pestalozza, he continued his composition studies
in Milan with Vittorio Fellegara. Subsequently he obtained a diploma
in conducting in flying colors. He enters at the Teatro Regio in Turin
where he made his debut as a conductor with La bohème.From 2000 to
2004 he was the artistic director of the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo.
>From 2004 to 2006 he was the artistic director of the Fondazione
Arena di Verona. He was recently appointed principal guest conductor
and artistic Adviser of the Orchestra of theOpéra de Marseille. During
his career he directed many of the most important Italian and European
theatres.

Narek Hakhnazaryan was born in 1988 in Yerevan, Armenia, from a
musical family: his father was a violinist and his mother a
pianist. Described by the “Washington Post” as a “phenomenal talent,”
Hakhnazaryan appeared on the international scene after winning the
first prize and the gold medal at the XIV International Tchaikovsky
Competition in 2011. Following the victory of the competition, debuted
with numerous major orchestras, including the London Symphony
Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiev at the Barbican Hall, where he
was described by the Guardian as “the brightest star of the night
… a mature, cellist whose performance of variations on a Rococo
Theme was of great character.” Narek Hakhnazarayan plays a David
Tecchler cello dated 1698.

Tiziana Carlini, emiliana, is principal conductor of the choir of the
Teatro Massimo Bellini from 1997. In 1988 he received the title of
Kapellmeister at the Accademia di alto perfezionamento in Graz
(Austria). He taught at the conservatories of Verona and Parma,
currently teaches at the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia in Rome. Also
carries out an intense activity as a conductor.

Tickets for both concerts are still available at the box office of
teatro, prices from 14 to 33 euros. Infoline 095
7150921. website.

The next appointment with the symphonic season of the “Bellini” is
scheduled for April 5next to 21 hours, when the audience of the round
to be able to attend

From: Baghdasarian

Armenian National Airline Armavia Goes Bankrupt, Grounds Flights

Bloomberg.com
Mar 29, 2013

By Sara Khojoyan

Armenian businessmen Mikayel Baghdasarov’s Armavia, the country’s only
carrier, declared bankruptcy today and will cease flights starting
April 1.

The company founded in 1996 was unable to pay debt accumulated to the
Zvartnots airport in Yerevan, Armenia’s capital, and to its
contractors, Armavia said in an e-mailed statement today. The total
debt was less than $50 million, Baghdasarov told the Arminfo news
service on March 15.

Europe’s debt crisis has curbed travel and made governments reluctant
to prop up airlines amid the region’s deepest cost cuts in a
generation. Hungary’s Malev folded in February 2012, while LOT Polish
Airlines SA last week said it needs a =80=9Cpainful’ cost-cutting
program to stay afloat. Aerosvit, Ukraine’s biggest private airline,
entered bankruptcy in December.

Armavia’s owners have been diverting funds from other businesses to
fund the airline in the past three years, the company said in its
statement.

Armavia has 14 aircraft and was the first operator of Sukhoi’s
Superjet 100.

To contact the reporter on this story: Sara Khojoyan in Yerevan at
[email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Balazs Penz at
[email protected]

From: Baghdasarian

Huffington Post Recommends People Lose Virginity Under San Francisco’s
Christian Cross Landmark

NewsBusters (Exposing & Combating Liberal Media Bias)
March 26, 2013

By Noel Sheppard

The debauchery at the Huffington Post knows no bounds.

On Monday, the website actually offered readers a slideshow of the
best places to lose one’s virginity in San Francisco, and coming in
seventh was under the Mount Davidson Cross, one of the city’s most
beloved religious landmarks.

To the right of this slide was the following: “Mount Davidson, Nothing
says Catholic guilt like, er, expressing yourself under San
Francisco’s biggest cross.”

For those unfamiliar, here’s how this landmark is described at
MountDavidsonCross.org:

Set atop the highest geographical point in San Francisco, the
Mt. Davidson Cross is one of the world’s tallest crosses and among the
city’s most cherished landmarks.

Today, the Council of Armenian-American Organizations of Northern
California owns and maintains the cross as a memorial to the 1.5
million Armenian victims of the Armenian Genocide perpetrated by
Ottoman Turkey between 1915 and 1923.

The cross honors not only those who perished in the Armenian Genocide,
but all victims of injustice, cruelty, and genocide. It also serves as
a reminder to remain vigilant against future atrocities.

Sound like a fitting place to lose one’s virginity?

Yet this wasn’t the only public place the Post advocated for such an
event.

Coming in first was Baker Beach – yes, a public beach! – followed by
doing it during the city’s famed race the Bay to Breakers – “Bonus
points if you’re on a moving float.”

In third was the bathroom at the restaurant Gitane followed by the sex
club The Power Exchange and the mayor’s office in City Hall.

It really is a grave new world!

About the Author: Noel Sheppard is the Associate Editor of
NewsBusters.

From: Baghdasarian

HOSTING A VIGIL FOR APRIL 24
by Michelle Hagopian on

March 29, 2013

April 24 is rapidly approaching, and it’s not too late to begin
thinking about how to get your local ANC involved with planning an
event. A common route Armenian organizations, especially the ANCA,
use is to hold a vigil in front of a government building, church,
or other significant landmark.

Vigils are an effective tool for the ANCA to publicly show our
support for any cause, and commemorating the lives of those lost 98
years ago is no exception. The ANCA uses demonstrations, marches,
and vigils to symbolize different things. Demonstrations are usually
organized quickly and respond to a timely issue; marches commemorate
a particular event and need more time to prepare; and vigils are
solemn and quiet, focusing on a past event or action, the genocide
being the prime example.

Chances are you’ve attended any one (or all) of these kinds of events
in the past, but what if you want to take the lead in your community
and organize onenow? Here are the steps you should follow if you want
to organize a vigil next month in remembrance of the more than 1.5
million lives lost in the genocide.

When holding a vigil:

1. Obtain all permits required by the city police. Call the police
department for regulations. Follow their guidelines exactly.

2. Scout the area to determine suitability before finalizing your
plan.Avoid areas with automatic sprinklers that turn on at night or
other such interferences.

3. Stick to the schedule. If you decide to hold a vigil for a few
hours during the evening, don’t extend it to an all-nighter while
the vigil is in progress.

4. Promote the event. As with other ANC-sponsored events, prepare a
press kit and notify the press of the vigil at least a week in advance.

5. Plan a program for the vigil’s halfway point. This can include a
short speech, recitation, or song. If appropriate, you may want to
ask elected officials or representatives of area groups sympathetic
to our cause to participate in or speak at the vigil.

6. Light the night in honor of the victims. Candles are usually held
by those participating in the vigil; make sure you have enough to
distribute to participants and the means to light them.

Much of this probably seems basic, but it’s easy to forget the simple
things when getting caught up in the planning process. Don’t forget to
use your social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.) platforms
to spread the word.

And while it’s not necessarily appropriate to take photographs during
the vigil, you should promote the event before and after it happens.

That means putting out flyers, sending out e-mails, and making phone
calls to your community alerting them to the date and time. It also
means designating someone in your local ANC to write a press release on
the event immediately afterward, and to e-mail it to the ANCA Eastern
Region office at [email protected] for review and broader distribution
to Armenian media outlets.

The ANCA Eastern Region office is here to help your local committees in
any way possible. That includes advising and helping plan your April
24 activities. We understand the impact the genocide has had on all
of us, but sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of how we memorialize the
victims or how we strengthen our communities as survivors moving into
the next 98 years. Hosting a memorable event like this is something
substantial that helps to accomplish that.

From: Baghdasarian

“IT’S A SHAME.” TIGRAN URIKHANIAN ABOUT 20 MILLION DRAMS FOR HAYRIKIAN’S TREATMENT

2013-03-29 13:04:57

As we have reported earlier, the Armenian government has allocated
from the reserve fund 20 million 500 thousand AMD Ministry of
Health of Armenia to continue the treatment of head of the “National
Self-Determination” Party Paruyr Hayrikian.

Government’s such a decision has caused much discontent.

Lurer.com talked about this with a deputy from “Prosperous Armenia”
party Tigran Urihanyan.

“It’s a shame that Armenia can not conduct such treatment. Shame is in
this context, but not to assist a person. I even welcome it. But the
fact, that RA doctors can not solve this problem, it is indescribable.

I have a very negative attitude to that, and I think that the Minister
of Health should give an explanation, why the consequences of such
injuries can not be treated in Armenia.

As the press service of the Ministry of Health informed Lurer.com,
they will later make a statement and will provide the necessary
clarification.

From: Baghdasarian

CENTRAL BANK’S EX-CHAIRMAN: “ARMENIA WILL BECOME A COUNTRY WITHOUT A FUTURE.”

2013-03-29 14:39:06

The EU’s decision to provide Armenia one million Euros to prevent
immigration will not solve the problem in a qualitative way, the
former chairman of the Central Bank, Economist Bagrat Asatryan told
reporters, 7or.am reported.

“We are facing a very serious problem – emigration of the population,
which is not even immigration, but rather escape. Every year, the
number of persons entering the working age decreases; there is a
significant shift in the composition of the population. Every fifth
woman in today’s generation will not be a mother due to the ratio
of men and women. In the following years, the number of deaths will
exceed the number of births,” Asatryan said.

Asatryan believes there is a need to change the system, otherwise
Armenia will become a country without a future.

Earlier, the EU allocated three million Euros to promote the resolution
of problems related to migration. Later, an announcement was made on
provision of another million Euros by the European Union to promote
“circular migration and reintegration.”

The program will be undertaken by the People in need organization
and the Armenian Relief Union.

From: Baghdasarian

THE HOPE IS SHORT MEMORY

March 28 2013

Whatever you write today, it will turn out that you are writing in
favor of or against this or that political team, although I personally
have no such intention whatsoever. And since I will talk about Vartan
Oskanian who is on the top of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP)
list for the Yerevan City Council election, let me say in advance
that there will be nothing terrible, if Mr. Oskanian becomes the
mayor of Yerevan; he is a knowledgeable and educated person who is
able to express his thoughts understandably. (Although the list of
the Armenian National Congress (ANC) topped by Vahagn Khachatryan is
dearer to me.) It is just that political forces should not rely on
people’s short memory, and when they, Mr. Oskanian, in particular,
struggle for freedom of the press today, they should not forget
that they were among those who suppressed that freedom for many
years. What is going on with the Civilitas Foundation, certainly,
has a political element. As far as I can tell, the target, however,
is not the information agency working within that foundation – which,
by the way, was able to gain a well-earned reputation very quickly –
rather than Mr. Oskanian himself; the interest of the National Security
Service (NSS) in him is ignited before different kinds of elections,
in particular, and dies out, depending on a certain result of those
elections. Certainly, our colleagues also suffer because of that,
but, fortunately, the information agency continues to work. Yesterday
Vartan Oskanian gathered foreign ambassadors and presented the state
of affairs in Civilitas. The ambassadors expressed their support to
the former Foreign Minister. Surely, it is a positive thing in itself.

However, did Mr. Oskanian not remember during that meeting to how
many ambassadors and to how many international organizations he, as
the Minister of Foreign Affairs, would explain for 6 years, starting
from April 2, 2002, when his President Robert Kocharyan deprived A1+
of broadcasting, that freedom of speech was not suppressed in Armenia,
that A1+ had just lost a competition? How many times did he justify
by that a much more violent attack on freedom of speech than today?

Certainly, we, employees of A1+, are not so close to ambassadors and
don’t have a possibility to gather them because of our problems; our
contacts are more modest. However, suppose we managed to organize such
a meeting during Kocharyan’s presidency. Can you imagine in what tone
“free, but responsible TV channels” would have talked about that –
“a fifth column,” “a betrayal of the treacherous Pan-Armenian National
Movement (PANM) members,” etc. Now they talk such nonsense very
rarely. This is the difference. ARAM ABRAHAMYAN

Read more at:

© 1998 – 2013 Aravot – News from Armenia

From: Baghdasarian

200 THOUSAND VOTES TO BECOME MAYOR

Naira Hayrumyan
10:37 29/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

The parties that did not reach an agreement to run jointly for the
Council of Elders do not rule out post-electoral cooperation. Perhaps,
everything will depend on who will be elected mayor.

According to February data, there are 890,000 voters in Yerevan. If a
party receives 41%, it will automatically nominate the mayor. About
half of Yerevan residents, 445,000, voted for incumbent president.

Apparently, we will have the same picture during the mayoral
elections. Actually, if one of the political parties receives 200,000
votes, it will nominate mayor.

At first sight, 200,000 does not seem a big figure, not only in
Yerevan where people vote more independently but also in the regions.

Besides, it is easier for the opposition to exercise control over 464
polling stations than all over the country. This time, ballot stuffing
and vote buying will become more difficult.

This means that if none of the parties receives 41%, the Council of
Elders will elect mayor. Here, the oppositional parties will need to
cooperate.

But the unsuccessful pre-election attempts aimed at cooperation do not
allow hoping that after May 5 the parties may unite. The point is that
they may face the same issue that they are facing now – disagreement
over the top of the list. The ARF and Heritage unveiled some details
of the failed negotiations. We can see several factors: 1. ARF wanted
to have the PAP in the pre-election bloc, 2. Heritage thinks Vartan
Oskanian’s candidacy is not optimal, 3. Heritage does not view the
mayoral elections as a priority because it agreed that the joint list
was headed by Lilit Galstyan of the ARF.

Will the parties be able to overcome these disagreements? Will the ARF
succeed in pushing Heritage into an alliance with PAP? Will Heritage
agree to support Vartan Oskanian?

These issues are technical at first sight but a good mathematician
could calculate victory.

From: Baghdasarian

CATHOLICOS HASN’T GOT USED TO HIS POST FOR 14 YEARS

10:45 29/03/2013
Story from Lragir.am News:

The catholicos of Armenia has recently defrocked Priest Zohrap
Mazmanyan of the Georgian Armenian Diocese, for leaving the place
of his pastoral service. Earlier he had defrocked Pastor Sahak of
Notre Dame of Nice, France. Since his election, Catholicos Garegin
II has defrocked over 100 priests. Now the priests defrocked by this
catholicos are uniting.

In an interview with us, Pastor Sahak said recently the French embassy
has conducted a survey in Armenia to figure out the level of confidence
in the catholicos. The answer of 95% of respondents was negative. This
man has not got used to his position for 14 years, it is a complex,
he says. In 2000 the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Archbishop
Mutafyan wrote him a letter which stated, “You have been the catholicos
for over a year, and you need not prove your powers.”

He notes that the Holy See Echmiadzin imposes a new Code of Conduct
on the communities, which is not in line with the habits of most
countries, the Armenian community there. He is pursuing his personal,
material interests, which is not accepted by the communities, there
is a conflict of interest. “Our interest is to preserve the Armenian
communities, his interest is material interest, possessions.”The
religious community of Nice has rejected the new Code of Conduct
according to which they wanted to take control of their entire
property, and Garegin II could telephone them and tell them to send
him 150,000 euro which would not be spent on activities for preserving
Armenians, the everyday life of the religious community.

“The criminal oligarchy builds new churches because its representatives
have a lot of money, they want to launder that money.

Here are their interests, were there not for these interests, the
old monasteries and churches would have been repaired,” Priest Sahak
informed.

“Garegin II went even further and declared the church of Nice
non-Apostolic. Neither his personal decision, nor the decisions of the
supreme ecclesiastic council are legitimate,” Priest Sahak says. The
Patriarch of Constantinople wrote in the same letter, “We were startled
when we received the new list of members of the supreme ecclesiastic
council because the members of the council are elected by the national
ecclesiastic assembly and not appointed by the catholicos.”

In answer to the remark that while the Pope of Rome lives a modest
life, in Armenia there is social injustice between the society and the
church, as the clergy live luxury lives, Priest Sahak says they receive
money from criminals which has been stolen from people, churches are
built on this money, and Garegin II blesses these people, awards them,
declares them heroes. A greater part of the church elite lives a luxury
life, their thurifers and trumpeters are sent abroad by the catholicos
where they can make money and they call themselves the soldiers of the
catholicos, Priest Sahak says, noting that there are also poor priests.

24 defrocked priests have already held their first assembly. The
meetings will continue. At the first meeting they discussed how they
can restore lawfulness and justice in the church and bring people of
the Armenia, Artsakh and the Diaspora closer to the church. Priest
Sahak hopes their number will double at the next assembly.

He notes that there are no arguments that justify why those clergymen
were defrocked.

From: Baghdasarian