Author: Hambardsumian Paul

ORION SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA, CADOGAN HALL, LONDON
By Michael Church

Independent
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
UK

The Orion Symphony Orchestra draws its players from all four London
conservatoires, and the Sonitus Chamber Choir, which joined it for
this event, does likewise; several past principals from the elite
National Youth Orchestra are among their ranks.

Another night, another student orchestra.

If you want to learn the secret of classical music’s perennial good
health, look no further. The conservatoires are bristling with talent,
and it’s bursting to display itself. The Orion Symphony Orchestra
draws its players from all four London conservatoires, and the Sonitus
Chamber Choir, which joined it for this event, does likewise; several
past principals from the elite National Youth Orchestra are among
their ranks. One of the purposes of this orchestra is to promote
‘unjustly forgotten masterpieces’, and another is to give the players
experience of working under real-world pressure: three rehearsals are
all they get before a concert, as opposed to the luxurious week they
have in college.

The forgotten work on this occasion was an opera by one of
Shostakovich’s students, Veniamin Fleishman, who was killed in
action in 1941. Shostakovich dutifully completed it, and Orion’s
artistic director Toby Purser has now devised an orchestral suite
from it. The result feels like=2 0echt Shostakovich in boisterous
mood, with circus oompah and distinct melodic echoes of Prokofiev:
it may not be a masterpiece, but it was worth this outing, and it
did provide a showcase for the beautiful sound which the leader of
the orchestra, Asthgik Vardanyan, can create. Her Armenian name may
denote Armenian training, which would explain that sound.

The rest of the programme was stunning. Benjamin Britten’s ‘Suite
on English Folk Tunes’ was his last orchestral work, and in its
extraction of maximum effect from minimal means it displays the hand
of the master.

Under Purser’s incisive beat the orchestra created Britten’s
characteristically translucent textures, and the ancient songs and
dances – with their often Stravinskyan colouring – came sweetly
across. In Tippett’s Negro spirituals from ‘A Child of Our Time’,
the orchestral/choral/solo sound had at times a burnished perfection,
and here Stephanie Edwards, the soprano soloist, was outstanding,
with floated high notes which rode with ease over brass, strings,
percussion, and choir. One of my personal blind spots is the syrupy
English sentimentality of works like Vaughan Williams’s ‘Serenade to
Music’, but here that piece was played so well that I almost found
myself liking it.

It was a nice idea to end with one of Shostakovich’s least-known
symphonies. His Ninth was written in defiance of the political
commissars at the end of the Second World War, and is shot through
with ambiguity. The way Purser and his players negotiated the sinister
muted waltz in the second movement, and the grotesquerie of the last,
was masterly.

WINDS AT NIGHT

A1+
07:47 pm | March 31, 2009

Society

Winds at night

On March 30 at 2 a.m. strong winds damaged the roofs of cattle-farms
belonging to A. Stepanyan and M. Hakobyan from the Martiros district
of Vayots Dzor Marz, each of them with a 40 square meter surface area.

In the Sers district of the same Marz strong winds damaged the roof
of the house belonging to Kh. Tadevosyan and the roofs of residential
homes in the Gomk district.

Committees have been created in the village councils to determine
the amount of damage.

Snow melts and damages

On the same day we were informed from the Gegharkunik Marz that nearly
250 hectares of land belonging to the Norakert district of the Marz
was flooded after the snow melted.

A committee has been created in the village council to determine the
amount of damage.

Fire in Magnolia

On the same day at 5:24 we received an alarm that a fire had broken
out in the area near the Magnolia cafe located on Azatutyun Square
in Yerevan.

Two firefighting crews left for the scene and the fire was put out
at 5:38 p.m.

The fire left the 40 square meter roof burnt.

Computers burnt

On the same day at 6:10 p.m. a fire broke out in the #7 middle school
of Vagharshapat city of the Armavir Marz.

A firefighting crew left for the scene and the fire was put out at
6:38 p.m.

The 50 square meter computer lab located on the second floor of the
school building was burnt along with eight computers.

ANCA LAUNCHES "FIERCE URGENCY OF NOW" CAMPAIGN

49
2009/03/31 | 13:09

Diaspora politics

On the eve of the April 1st arrival of Genocide Prevention Month,
the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) today launched a
nationwide online and print campaign urging concrete action to end
the Darfur genocide and full U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

Echoing Martin Luther King’s famous remarks at the Lincoln Memorial in
August, 1963, the "Fierce Urgency of NOW" campaign urges anti-genocide
activists across the U.S. to visit () to learn
more about the worsening humanitarian situation in Darfur and how
this atrocity fits into the cycle of genocide that started with the
Armenian Genocide of 1915-1923. The website provide simple ways for
citizens to call on President Obama to show "unstinting resolve"
in the effort to stop the Darfur Genocide, by participating in Save
Darfur "add your voice" effort

Activists can also call on the Obama Administration and Congress to
recognize the Armenian Genocide, putting to an end to U.S. complicity
in Turkey’s international campaign of genocide denial.

LEVON TER-PETROSYAN RECEIVES GERMAN DELEGATES

A1+
05:37 pm | March 30, 2009

Politics

Armenia’s first President Levon Ter-Petrosyan has met with a German
delegation headed by the Minister of State at the Federal Foreign
Office of Germany, Gernot Erler.

In the course of the meeting, questions regarding the home policy
crisis, establishment of democracy in Armenia and the upcoming
municipal elections were discussed. The parties exchanged views on
the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and the normalisation of the Armenian
-Turkish relation.

The German ambassador to Armenia Andrea-Joanna Maria Victorin and the
representative of the central office of the Armenian National Congress
(HAK) David Shahnazaryan took part in the meeting, reports the HAK.

Mooradian comments

April issue
macomb observer

By Mitch Kehetian

DETROIT — For Tom Mooradian, Armenia’s apology for the cruel
treatment of "Armenian repatriats" during the post-World War II years
of 1946-48 was a positive sign that Yerevan seeks to correct the
disastrous repatriation drive.
Mooradian was a 19-year-old teenager from Detroit when he
witnessed the cruel punishment endured by thousands of repatriats to
Soviet Armenia in 1947. He was one of several hundred American
Armenians who went to then communist-controlled Armenia.
"It took 13 years to get the Soviets to let me return to America.
I still feel the pain of that self-imposed exile," author Mooradian
repeats at book signings of "The Repatriat, Love, Basketball and the
KGB."
Mooradian, now 79, applauds Armenia’s minister of diaspora
affairs, Hranush Hakobian, for having publicly apologized at last
December’s international diaspora conference in Yerevan . In
addressing the Dec. 13-14 conference Hakobian extended the
government’s apology to all the repatriats and their families for what
she had termed as being a botched attempt by the Soviet Union at
repatriating Armenians to the small Soviet Armenian republic.
News reports from Armenia on the public apology said Hakobian was
visibly shaken in her remarks, and took special note that her apology
about the suffering was also the first time that a ranking government
official had acknowleged the cruel life repatriats were forced to
endure.
She also confirmed that many of the repatriats were exiled to
Siberia on suspicion of taking anti-Soviet positions, heightened by
Stalin’s edicts that saboteurs had infiltrated the ranks of the more
than 100,000 repatriats who came to Armenia from the Middle East,
Greece, Romania, and the United States.
During book signings at two of Detroit’s large Armenian church
communities, St. John and St. Sarkis, Mooradian said "when my ship,
the Rossia, pulled out of New York harbor in November, 1947 with 150
other American Armenians reality sunk in my teenage brain. When I
applied for my Soviet entrance visa I had unknowingly applied for
Soviet citizenship. BY my own stupidity I was also relinquishing my
American citizenship. I spent the next 13 years trying to get back to
my home in Detroit. My prayers were answered on July 31, 1960 when the
Soviets granted me an exit visa."
In an interview with Vaughan Masropian, director of the Armenian
Radio Hour in Detroit, Mooradian said the recent positive economic
ranking Armenia received from The Wall Street Journal and The American
Heritage Foundation in their annual 2009 Economic Freedom report was a
healthy free enterprise sign for Armenia’s future.
"When I was there we stood in line for bread, and thankful for
what we got – which was barely enough to survive," said Mooradian, now
a retired suburban Detroit newspaper reporter.
In his memoir "The Repatriat," now in its second printing since
last October when the powerful paperback was published, Mooadian
admits that basketball "kept me alive with the ability to survive 13
years trapped behind the Iron Curtain."
When quizzed at a meeting of the St. Sarkis Fellowship Club,
Mooradian said his "nighmare" experience was brought on by a foolish
young activist who only had himself to blame . "I am just thankful I
survived. when I hear someone bad mouth America, I cringe because the
freedom we have as Americans is priceless. I know. I learned with 13
years of my life."
At a meeting of the Detroit Armenian Women’s Club, Mooradian also
shared the pain and suffering repatriats with small children were
forced to live in then Soviet Armenia while fearful "a knock on the
door at night meant they were being taken away for speaking out
against the communist-run country."
While at an afterglow book signing at Edgar Hagopian’s popular
World of Hagopian Rugs outlet in suburban Birmingham, Mooradian said
his skill on the basketball court is what saved him, mentally and
physically. "After we beat the highly touted team from Red China, I
was placed on the national Soviet team."
As a high school basketball star at Detroit Southwestern,
Mooradian was captain of his team that won the public school crown in
1946. His goal as a repatriat was to go to college in Armenia and
introduce the American style of basketball. "But it was basketball
that saved me in a society that denied people their civil rights," he
told the Detroit Armenian community in a series of talks about "life
behind the Iron Curtain."
Though present-day Armenia, free of communist rule since the 1991
collapse of the Soviet Union is but 12,000 square miles with a
population numbering over three million, Mooradian said the districts
of Kars and Ardahan that Turkey seized from the independent Armenian
republic of 1918 should be returned to the Armenians. "Those lands
belong to Armenia and were so recognized in 1920 by the United States
and President Woodrow Wilson. "
When asked if he ever plans to visit Arrmenia now that it is free,
and practicing economic freedom, Mooradian smiled: "Hey, the Armenians
are great. They also suffered under the tyranny of Lenin and
Stalin. But today they are free to guide their own destiny. As for
going to Armenia, if I did, I would go as a tourist, with a round-trip
ticket and never surrender my American passport," he stressed
adamantly.
When told the diaspora conference in Yerevan also deliberated on
the feasibility to conduct another large repatriation movement to
Armenia, Mooradian was blunt: "Look, I love the Armenian people. If
you want to help Armenia you do it with support for groups dedicated
to help Armenia. You send money, medical supplies and make sure the
U.S. Congress supports Armenia’s foreign policy – and tells the Turks
to condemn the Ottoman government of the 1915 Armenian genocide."
Mooradian, a graduate of Wayne State University, and his wife,
Jan, a retired Detroit public school teacher, now live in upstate
Hubbard Lake. "The Repatriat" is available from Wayne State
University Press, Amazon.com, and from the website
_www.tommooradian.com_ ()

(Editor’s Note:Mitch Kehetian is a contributing columnist for
Observer-Fracassa Publications in Detroit and retired editor of the
Macomb Daily.)

AZERBAIJAN’S OK NOT NECESSARY FOR KARABAKH RECOGNITION

Aravot
warticle=40927_3/27/2009_1
Friday March 27, 2009

YEREVAN (Aravot)–Azerbaijan’s approval is not necessary for the
recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, based on international
precedents on such matters, said Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Political Director Giro Manoyan in an interview published Friday in
the Aravot newspaper.

"From the Karabakh issue perspective, what is interesting is that
the three co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group have recognized
the independence of this or that entity without securing the approval
of the countries of which they are a part," said Manoyan citing the
US and French recognition of Kosovo without garnering the approval
of Serbia and Russia’s recognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia,
without an agreement from Georgia.

"[By recognizing these entities] these three countries have gone on
record that the right to self-determination has far greater relevance
in international law and have effectively established that Karabakh
recognition does not require Azerbaijan’s approval," explained Manoyan.

"These approaches cannot be ignored; I’m not saying that based on these
[precedents] we should have already attained everything, but we cannot
easily accept that Azerbaijan’s approval is important," added Manoyan.

In his interview, which focused primarily on the aftermath of the
Russian-Georgian war last August, Manoyan emphasized that Armenia
has emerged as an important regional player following the conflict.

He explained that the recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia
presented Armenia with certain expectations from Russia, to which
Armenia could not agree. This had an impact on Russia, which
realized that Armenia is not a country that, at any given moment,
would make moves based on Russia’s interests by ignoring its own
national interests.

Manoyan explained that this was a turning point in Russian-Armenian
relations, since the myth that Armenia will do whatever Russia asks
of it is waning and Russians realize that the interdependence between
Armenia and Russia is mutual.

As for the lessons of the August war, Manoyan said that the
Russian-Georgian conflict made it abundantly clear that wars, be they
with Armenia or between neighbors will have an impact on Armenia.

"We [Armenia] had no role in the Russia-Georgia war, but we did incur
as much economic damage as Georgia, because of Georgia’s imprudent
policies," said Manoyan.

On the other hand, Manoyan expressed that Armenia must be more active
in its diplomacy and foreign relations.

"Being active does not mean to only visit Moscow and Tbilisi, but
Brussels too and attempt to present Armenia’s positions, concerns and
expectations," elaborated Manoyan, adding that US And the European
Union are allocating billions of dollars in response to Georgia’s
irresponsible behavior, while not allocating a penny for the losses
Armenia incurred as a result.

"It is obvious that it is a political decision, but, at one point, it
is also as a result of our [Armenia’s] oversight that we have not been
able to vocally and effectively address our issues," added Manoyan.

ARMENIA TO PARTICIPATE IN A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVALS

ARMENPRESS
March 26, 2009

YEREVAN, MARCH 26, ARMENPRESS: This year Armenia will participate in
a number of international film festivals. Director of the National
Film Center Gevorg Gevorgyan told Armenpress that director Taron
Petrosian’s "Farewell to Meline", Harutyun Khachatrian’s "The
Border", Vigen Chaldranyan’s "Priestess" will be presented at the
International Syracuse Film Festival. H. Khachatrian’s "The Border"
film will be presented in a contest of the annual Huston international
film festival’s "Remmi" prize giving which will take place April 17-26.

G. Gevorgyan underscored the participation of Armenia in Cannes film
festival. Hovhannes Galstyan’s "Mixed Parallels" film will be presented
at the 48th international film critics’ week held within the frameworks
of the festival. Debutant directors are participating in the program.

H. Khachatrian’s "The Border" film will be shown at the
festival. G. Gevorgyan pointed out that Armenia is for the first
time participating in the film-market event within the frameworks of
the festival with a separate pavilion. The Armenian film production
starting from 2006 will be presented.

FORMER RA DEPUTY PROSECUTOR GENERAL SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON

PanARMENIAN.Net
23.03.2009 15:34 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The court of Kentron and Nork Marash communities
found former RA Deputy Prosecutor General Gagik Jahangiryan guilty
of resistance under to authority under article 316.1 of the RA Penal
Code and sentenced him to 3 years in prison, said Alina Grigoryan,
a spokesperson for the RA Court of Cassations.

Gagik Jahangiryan supported opposition during the post-election
protest actions in 2008. He accused the authorities of marring the
presidential election. He was detained on February 23 and charged of
resistance to authority and accroachment of state power.

‘RIVERBIG,’ BY ARIS JANIGIAN
Terry Hong, Special to The Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle
March 23 2009
CA

Riverbig
By Aris Janigian
(Heyday Books; 248 pages; $21.95)

Far too many immigration stories begin with an escape from tragedy –
everything from economic hardship to devastating wars. The Armenian
American experience is tragically rooted in the Armenian genocide of
1915 to 1918, the systematic massacre of an estimated 1 to 2 million
Armenians. A near-century later, the tragedy continues to fester
with the Turkish government’s continued refusal to acknowledge that
genocide occurred.

Among the surviving diaspora, California’s Central Valley proved
to be an immigration destination for many families. Aris Janigian,
a Fresno-born, second-generation Armenian American, introduced readers
to such a family in his absorbing 2003 first novel, "Bloodvine," about
two half-brothers torn apart by jealousy and misunderstanding. In
the ensuing rift, the younger brother relinquishes his inheritance –
his claim to the family grape farm – to the elder, whose bittersweet
victory results in far greater loss.

The brothers’ division looms large in Janigian’s sequel, "Riverbig,"
which follows the separated life of younger brother Andy Demerjian,
who is struggling to support his wife and two young sons at the
novel’s opening. Denied access to his own land, he scrambles for odd
jobs, weighed down by growing debt, with temporary relief found in
alcoholic stupor. Two simultaneous farming opportunities save Andy
from bankruptcy: A widow offers her land for lease, while a school
acquaintance returns from the big city to propose that Andy manage
a nearby land parcel.

The hoped-for success of Andy the lone farmer is clearly what
frames Janigian’s new novel. What gives the story heart, however,
is a redemptive journey for Andy the man: Uprooted from his land, his
parents long gone and now irreparably estranged from his brother and
business partner, Andy is left seemingly untethered to his Armenian
immigrant farming community. As he tends someone else’s soil while
negotiating nature’s difficult whims, so, too, must he nurture tenuous
relationships in order to reclaim belief in his own self, as both a
deserving family man and trusted friend.

At home, Andy finds growing solace in his family-by-marriage. He learns
that honesty brings him closer to his beloved wife, Kareen, whom he
thought he was protecting by hiding their financial distress. He
recognizes the courage of his mother-in-law, Valentine, who was
witness to the harrowing genocide and somehow survived with her
humanity intact. While Valentine celebrates her American life, she
longs to be reunited with her last daughter, whom she left behind in
Egypt after fleeing the Turks. Andy recognizes her loss and works to
make the family whole, even as he comes to accept his own legacy as
the American-born son of a genocide survivor with a dubious past.

Andy begrudgingly accepts the manipulative widow whose land he leases,
and risks her wrath to give time to her damaged but artistically
gifted daughter. Even as he drinks too much, he stands by the local
bar’s owner, a fellow Armenian American struggling to stay afloat in
an ever-changing new social order of loyal customers and aggressive
buyers. He reluctantly hires and befriends two hard-working African
American brothers – a potentially dangerous challenge in a closed,
pre-civil-rights-era community – reluctant only because he knows
their wages must come out of his own much-depleted pockets.

Andy’s farming journey of plowing, planting and hopes for eventually
harvesting tomatoes from one plot and corn from another, ironically
brings him further from the land and closer to the people and events
that comprise his very existence. "Abe," he says silently to his lost
brother, "you can take the certainty of the farm, all you can handle,
and I will take life, with all its shabby uncertainty."

McKnisey & Company expert: IT and tourism are priority fields for
Armenia

2009-03-22 10:46:00

ArmInfo. Information technologies and tourism are priority fields for
Armenia, Andre Andonian, an expert of the international consulting
company McKinsey & Company told journalists during the sitting of the
Armenian National Competitiveness Fund, Saturday. He said that the
company had assessed the Armenian economy earlier. These assessments
have undergone no changes, he added. Besides IT and tourism, Andonian
also qualified the diamond cutting field as a priority one.

Speaking of the Armenian National Competitiveness Fund’s programs,
Andonian pointed out that the projects of Varpetats district and Tatev
complex are very useful for Armenia, but they should be implemented
consistently.

To recall, in 2003 McKinsey & Company researched the main levers of
raising productivity in Armenia.