Author: Maral Takmazian

A Sterling Exhibition Of Drama
by Clive O’connell Reviewer
The Age (Melbourne)
June 15, 2004 Tuesday
Music review: SUREN BAGRATUNI & TIMOTHY YOUNG, Australian National
Academy of Music, June 10
Armenian-born cellist Suren Bagratuni is the most recent in the
series of the National Academy’s visiting artists, that prolific
source of education for talented young Australian musicians on the
cusp of their careers.
Bagratuni presented a particularly expansive program, working
backwards from a piece by one of his compatriots, Adam Khudoyan, to
the best-known cello sonata in the repertoire: Beethoven No. 3 in A
major. As a tour of masterworks, it was slanted towards modern times,
also taking in the Shostakovich and Debussy sonatas. All four together
is a concentrated night’s work.
The Beethoven work is loaded with problems of balance, including
passages that feature strong detailed work for the piano under which
the cello broods over the melodies. Timothy Young kept his contribution
in the foreground, rarely diminishing his piano’s volume for the sake
of Bagratuni but the outcome made for a benign interpretation rather
than the sparks that other duos bring to the work. The cellist observed
a wide range of dynamics with the accent on moulding lines and there
were several unusual and felicitous pauses and contrasts of attack.
Young was hard-pressed in this work’s finale which holds some
improbably demanding leaps and scale passages but you rarely got
the feeling that he was making heavy weather of them; any blips
occurred in slower sections. He also faced an equally daunting trial
in the fourth movement of the Shostakovich sonata which exercises the
accompanist mercilessly while the solo observes the struggle from a
distance. Nevertheless, Bagratuni produced a soaring account of this
work’s two central sections, an imposing successor to the Khudoyan work
for solo cello – a showpiece and both motivically and atmospherically
suggestive of the one Armenian composer everybody knows: Khatchaturian.
However, the most engrossing moments of this recital came in the last
two-thirds of the Debussy sonata, its leaps and darts excellently
carried off by both musicians in a sterling exhibition of light touch
and rapid note negotiation. To their high credit, both performers
maintained the finale’s underpinning drama and vehemence, qualities
that make the final bars both a joy and a relief.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

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WEBSITE AT <;HTTP:// 1) Council of Europe Wraps-up Fact Finding Mission to Armenia 2) Armenians in Paris Rally against Turkey EU Entry 3) Georgia's President Reaffirms $100 Million Allocation to Repair Javakhk Roads 4) Former Armenian Defense Chief Released From Jail 5) Party Leader Shot in Azerbaijan 1) Council of Europe Fact Finding Mission to Armenia Wraps-up YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--A representative of the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) met on Monday with President Robert Kocharian and a string of other senior Armenian officials, to end a fact finding mission on Armenia's compliance with democratic standards set forth by the organization. Jerzy Jaskiernia, the Armenia rapporteur of the PACE's Monitoring Committee, is to draft a report on whether the Armenian administration is following the recommendations contained in the assembly's April 28 resolution on the Armenian political crisis. "We will present our findings in our report. We don't like to make any comments during the visit," Jaskiernia told reporters when asked to comment on his findings. Pointing to the release of all senior members of opposition parties, he commented, "I think there is an intention by the government to fulfill that resolution. Several of its elements have already been fulfilled," The PACE resolution warned that the Armenian government must immediately free all individuals arrested for their participation in the opposition protests and investigate "human rights abuses" or face the possibility of PACE sanctions next September. However, the main focus of Jaskiernia's meetings in Yerevan was the idea of a referendum of confidence in Kocharian, suggested by the Armenian Constitutional Court in the wake of last year's disputed presidential election. Government officials reiterated their view that the proposal was not binding. Jaskiernia agreed. 2) Armenians in Paris Rally against Turkey EU Entry PARIS (Yerkir)--A public rally in opposition to Turkey's accession to the European Union took place in Paris on Friday, June 12. The rally was organized by the Armenian National Committee of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation of France. Participants of the rally gathered around the monument of Komitas, which was built in dedication to the victims of the Armenian genocide. From there, they marched to the presidential palace, where in December of this year, French President Jacques Chirac is expected to announce his final opinion on Turkey's admission to the European Union. In addition to the recognition of the Armenian genocide, EU resolutions adopted in 1987 and 2004 specify that Turkey must withdraw its troops from northern Cyprus, lift its blockade of Armenia, guarantee the rights its minority population and release its political prisoners before talks dealing with the country's accession to the Union are to begin. 3) Georgia's President Reaffirms $100 Million Allocation to Repair Javakhk Roads TBILISI (Armenpress)--Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili reaffirmed plans to allocate approximately $100 million for the reconstruction of roads connecting Georgia's Armenian-populated region of Javakhk to the capital city of Tbilisi. The money is expected to come from $400 million in combined US and IMF assistance for the repair of Georgia's infrastructures. Javakhk's A-Info news agency reported Saakashvili confirmed the allocation while in Adjaria, meeting with activists of his National Movement, saying that improved roads would have a drastically positive effect on the region and its population. 4) Former Armenian Defense Chief Released From Jail YEREVAN (RFE/RL)--Vagharshak Harutiunian, Armenia's former defense minister and prominent member of the opposition, was released from jail late Friday evening. Harutiunian was arrested two months ago, charged with conspiracy to overthrow the government. The head of the investigations department at Armenia's Office of Prosecutor-General Andranik Mirzoyan, said that Harutiunian was set free because he did not impede the ongoing criminal inquiry into his political activities. Mirzoyan said that the charges leveled against the ex-minister have not been dropped, and that he may still face trial. The move followed calls for Harutiunian's release, by the head of the Yerevan office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Ambassador Vladimir Pryakhin, who, earlier in the day said that the criminal case is "weak." A senior member of the Artarutyun alliance, Harutiunian was among over a dozen opposition activists arrested last April on charges of calling for a "violent overthrow of constitutional order" and insulting senior government officials. "We do support enforcement of the law, but in this case the accusations are quite weak because the suspect's alleged crimes have not been properly specified," Pryakhin said, adding that he has repeatedly raised the issue with Armenian prosecutors. Harutiunian's defense attorney, Robert Grigorian, argued that the prosecutors have still not elaborated on their accusations. "They must specify which speeches by Vagharshak Harutiunian... are deemed an insult against government officials and which of his actions were aimed at a violent seizure of power," he said. Harutiunian did not speak at any of the anti-Kocharian rallies held by Artarutyun and the allied National Unity Party this year. The Office of Prosecutor-General refused to comment on the details of the case, stating only that "investigative actions" continue. 5) Party Leader Shot in Azerbaijan BAKU (AP)--An opposition party leader known for his bold military exploits in the war over the Mountainous Karabagh was shot and killed early Monday in Azerbaijan's capital, police said. Fatulla Huseynov's body was found by his neighbors outside his Baku home, said Yashar Aliyev of the city police. Neighbors reported hearing between four and six gunshots minutes earlier. Aliyev said police did not yet have a motive or suspect. Huseynov, 67, was one of the leaders of Azerbaijan's opposition Justice party. He also served as the vice president of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. He had previously worked in Azerbaijan's Interior Ministry and headed the nation's road police. In 1992-93, Huseynov fought in Karabagh, earning the nickname the "black colonel" for his unit's military feats. All subscription inquiries and changes must be made through the proper carrier and not Asbarez Online. ASBAREZ ONLINE does not transmit address changes and subscription requests. (c) 2004 ASBAREZ ONLINE. All Rights Reserved. ASBAREZ provides this news service to ARMENIAN NEWS NETWORK members for academic research or personal use only and may not be reproduced in or through mass media outlets. From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress