Author: Tadevosian Garnik

8B60AE/Doc~E6BEB6963E6AA4AE0BD1592C162C766FA~ATpl~ Ecommon~Scontent.html

Frankfurter Allgemeine
FAZ.NET
18 Dezember 2008

R?Ã?¶misches Schlachtfeld entdeckt
Die Germanen in den Sumpf treiben
Von Ralf-Peter M?Ã?¤rtin

Caption: Zwei rund 1800 Jahre alte Fundst?Ã?¼cke

17. Dezember 2008 Dass die R?Ã?¶mer im dritten Jahrhundert gegen die
Germanen k?Ã?¤mpften, ist keine Sensation – dass man eines dieser
Schlachtfelder gefunden hat, schon. Noch ist das Fundmaterial f?Ã?¼r eine
?Schlacht` vergleichsweise mager, stehen die Ausgrabungen erst am
Anfang, aber so viel ist klar: In der Gemarkung Oldenrode bei Kalefeld
im Landkreis Northeim haben sich R?Ã?¶mer und Germanen ein erbittertes
Gefecht geliefert. Ein offenbar von Nord nach S?Ã?¼d marschierender
r?Ã?¶mischer Verband geriet am sogenannten Harzhorn, einem von Ost nach
West ziehenden H?Ã?¶henr?Ã?¼cken, in einen germanischen Hinterhalt und musste
sich darauf den Weg freik?Ã?¤mpfen.

Wie er das tat, beweist, dass es sich wirklich um r?Ã?¶mische Truppen
handelte. Denn die geborgenen St?Ã?¼cke sind Geschosspfeile und
Katapultbolzen, wie sie nur von der imperialen Feldartillerie
verschossen wurden, beispielsweise vom Typ Scorpio, einem
Torsionsgesch?Ã?¼tz. Es war leicht transportierbar, einfach zu bedienen und
durchschlug auf mehrere hundert Meter jeden Schild und jede R?Ã?¼stung. Im
Gel?Ã?¤nde haben die Arch?Ã?¤ologen mit auf St?Ã?¶cken aufgesteckten Tennisb?Ã?¤llen
markiert, wo die Salven einschlugen. Unterst?Ã?¼tzt wurde der Angriff von
orientalischen Bogensch?Ã?¼tzen. Ihre charakteristischen dreikantigen
Pfeile fanden sich ebenfalls. Dem Beschuss mit Fernwaffen folgte ein
Infanterieangriff. Ihn gegen den von Germanen besetzten Hang vorzutragen
war sicherlich Schwerstarbeit. Seine Sto?Ã?richtung bis hinauf auf die
Kammh?Ã?¶he l?Ã?¤sst sich an den verlorenen Eisenn?Ã?¤geln der Sandalen
verfolgen, der klassischen Fu?Ã?bekleidung der Legion?Ã?¤re.

Anzeige

Kein Hinweis auf den germanischen Gegner

Mit aller Vorsicht sch?Ã?¤tzt die Kreisarch?Ã?¤ologin Petra L?Ã?¶nne die St?Ã?¤rke
der R?Ã?¶mer auf eine Abteilung von vielleicht tausend Mann. Sie f?Ã?¼hrte
auch einen Tross mit sich. Ein sch?Ã?¶n gearbeitetes St?Ã?¼ck einer
Wagenaufh?Ã?¤ngung, Radnaben, eine Pionieraxt und ein Zelthering belegen
es, dazu auch ein eiserner Pferdeschuh, eine Steighilfe, die man f?Ã?¼r
Transportmaultiere in schwerem Gel?Ã?¤nde einsetzte, da Hufeisen noch nicht
in Gebrauch waren.

*
Die R?Ã?¶mer siegten. Jene verr?Ã?¤terischen Kleinteile, die beim Fleddern der
Toten von R?Ã?¼stungen, Helmen und Kleidung abrei?Ã?en und die zu Hunderten
auf dem wahrscheinlichen Varusschlachtfeld von Kalkriese geborgen
wurden, fehlen. Bislang gibt es au?Ã?er ein paar Speerspitzen keine
Hinweise auf die germanischen Gegner. Ebenfalls zu kl?Ã?¤ren bleibt, warum
die an Metall immer interessierten Stammeskrieger die r?Ã?¶mischen
Geschosse liegen lie?Ã?en. Vielleicht, vermutet der Arch?Ã?¤ologe Achim Rost,
weil sie sich zu tief in den Boden eingebohrt hatten.

Entlang einer klassischen Route

Wann hat sich das Gefecht abgespielt? Der einzigen gefundenen M?Ã?¼nze mit
dem Portr?Ã?¤t des Kaisers Commodus (180-192) – die ja nicht unbedingt mit
dem Kamp im Zusammenhang stehen muss – springt eine
Schwertscheidenverzierung zur Seite, deren Ornamentik sich eindeutig der
ersten H?Ã?¤lfte des zweiten Jahrhunderts zuordnen l?Ã?¤sst. Endg?Ã?¼ltige
Best?Ã?¤tigung dieser Zeitstellung lieferte eine C14-Datierung aus den
Holzresten eines Gesch?Ã?¼tzpfeils.

Der Schlachtplatz aus der Vogelperspektive: der H?Ã?¶henzug ?Ã?¼ber dem
Nettetal

M?Ã?¼ssen wir uns dar?Ã?¼ber wundern, so weit vom Rhein r?Ã?¶mische Truppen
anzutreffen? Die von den R?Ã?¶mern begangene Route kann man regelrecht
?klassisch` nennen. Es ist die Vormarschstra?Ã?e aus der Zeit der
Germanenkriege des Drusus und des Tiberius um Christi Geburt. Von Mainz
f?Ã?¼hrte sie durch die Wetterau ?Ã?¼ber das in j?Ã?¼ngster Zeit gefundene Lager
von Hedem?Ã?¼nden an der Werra am Westrand des Harzes entlang zur Elbe.

Wider die Legende

Es ist ein weitverbreiteter Irrtum, anzunehmen, Rom habe sich nach der
Niederlage in der Varusschlacht, die im Jahre neun nach Christus drei
r?Ã?¶mische Legionen vernichtete, f?Ã?¼r immer aus Germanien zur?Ã?¼ckgezogen. Im
Gegenteil: Ab der zweiten H?Ã?¤lfte des ersten Jahrhunderts schob das
Imperium sukzessive seine Grenze ?Ã?¼ber den Rhein und den Oberlauf der
Donau vor, eroberte die fruchtbaren Landschaften des Neuwieder Beckens,
der Wetterau, der Oberrheinischen Tiefebene, des Main- und Neckartals
und errichtete um 120 nach Christus die 550 Kilometer lange, von
Palisaden und Mauern gesicherte Kontrollzone des
obergermanisch-r?Ã?¤tischen Limes.

Die Fundorte sind mit Tennisb?Ã?¤llen markiert

Zu allen Zeiten beruhte die Sicherung der endlosen Fluss- und
Landgrenzen auf der Beherrschung des Vorfeldes. Mit sch?Ã?¶ner
Selbstverst?Ã?¤ndli chkeit nahm Rom sich das Recht, in der Tiefe des
germanischen Raums zu operieren und nach dem Prinzip
Vorw?Ã?¤rtsverteidigung drohende Gefahren abzuwenden. Dies wurde auch
beibehalten, als es zu Beginn des dritten Jahrhunderts zu Gro?Ã?angriffen
der Alamannen, kam, die 211 und 233 auf breiter Front den Limes
durchbrachen.

Ein weites Feld f?Ã?¼r Arch?Ã?¤ologen

Die Feldz?Ã?¼ge der Kaiser Caracalla (211 bis 217) und Maximinus Thrax (235
bis 238) stie?Ã?en aus dem Limesgebiet weit in die germanischen
Kerngebiete vor. Von Letzterem berichten unsere Hauptquellen, Herodian
und die auf ihm basierende ?Historia Augusta`, er sei mit einem Heer, in
dem vor allem orientalische Kontingente, syrische und armenische
Bogensch?Ã?¼tzen, eine gro?Ã?e Rolle spielten, gegen die Germanen gezogen,
habe sie in die S?Ã?¼mpfe getrieben und dort einen gro?Ã?en Sieg errungen.
Fixiert auf die in S?Ã?¼ddeutschland siedelnden Alamannen, hat die
Forschung den w?Ã?¼rttembergischen Raum als Ort der ?Schlacht im Moor`
angenommen. Der Althistoriker Gustav Adolf Lehmann verweist hingegen
darauf, dass auch eine andere Lesart der Quellen m?Ã?¶glich ist.
Topographie und Entfernung k?Ã?¶nnten durchaus zum Harzvorland passen.

Doch vor all diesen Vermutungen steht erst einmal der eigentliche Beginn
der Ausgrabungen. Allein schon das Ausma?Ã? des Areals, eine Fl?Ã?¤che von
1500 mal 500 Metern, wird die Arch?Ã?¤ologen auf Jahre besch?Ã?¤ftigen. Die
Arbeit wird sich lohnen. Neben Kalkriese, bislang das einzige ergrabene
antike Schlachtfeld weltweit, besitzt ausgerechnet das so weit von Rom
entfernte Niedersachsen nun noch das zweite. Segen und Fluch zugleich.
Denkt man an den viel zu mageren Forschungsetat vom Varusschlachtfeld,
wird man sich wohl auch am Harzrand in Geduld fassen m?Ã?¼ssen. Zeichen der
Hoffnung: Der Kultusminister pers?Ã?¶nlich war zur Besichtigung vor Ort.

Text: F.A.Z.
Bildmaterial: ddp, dpa

ARMENIA’S NATIONAL SECURITY SECRETARY MEETS OSCE SECRETARY GENERAL

armradio.am
16.12.2008 16:46

Issues related to the settlement of the Karabakh conflict,
normalization of the Armenian-Turkish relations, regional cooperation
and security were discussed during the meeting between the Secretary
of the National Security Council of Armenia, Arthur Baghdasaryan,
and the OSCE Secretary General, Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.

Stressing the dangerousness of solving conflicts in a military way,
Arthur Baghdasaryan attached importance to the continuation of the
negations within the OSCE Minsk Group and the Moscow declaration
signed in this framework.

He underlined the necessity of gradual improvement of the
Armenian-Turkish relations. The parties discussed the Russian
initiative of European security, and in this context attached
importance to issues of reinforcing peace and stability on the
Caucasus.

Arthur Baghdasaryan informed that an international conference dedicated
to issues of regional security will be held in Yerevan in April.

Interfax, Russia
Dec 12 2008

Azeri, Armenian presidents could discuss Karabakh at personal meeting
in early 2009

BAKU Dec 12

Another round of talks between the Azerbaijan and Armenian presidents
on the Karabakh problem could take place in early 2009, chief of
Foreign Relations at the Azeri presidential administration Novruz
Mamedov told journalists.

"It seems to me that the next presidential meeting might take place
early next year," Mamedov said.

The world community wants the Karabakh problem to be resolved within
Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, he said.

"Overall, as a result of regional processes and the global community
becoming more active, Russia, Turkey, the United States, the European
Union and other international organizations – all of them are very
interested in getting this conflict resolved within Azerbaijan’s
territorial integrity, and Baku has strengthened its stance in this
direction," Mamedov said.

"This is why I think that the decision in this direction, made by each
international organization, must be a help for us," said the
presidential administration official.

As for Russia’s role in the conflict resolution, Moscow has not taken
the opposite stance, he said.

"I think, it is more important for Russia to see this conflict
resolved within Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and in line with
international law," Mamedov said.

NKR PRESIDENT SAHAKYAN DELIVERED A WELCOMING ADDRESS TO PARTICIPANTS..

Azat Artsakh Daily
12 Dec 08
Republic of Nagorno Karabakh [NKR

On 9 December NKR President Bako Sahakyan delivered a welcoming address
to participants of the `Human Rights Protection in the Practice of
Constitutional Justice’ conference, which is held at the sitting hall
of the NKR National Assembly. In his speech the President said the
following: `Dear participants of the conference, I welcome
holding in Stepanakert the authoritative conference in connection with
the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and
the Day of the NKR Constitution. It is very important that the event is
organized on a very high representative level and is academic in its
nature. The people of Nagorno Karabagh have been always dedicated
to the principles of liberty and democracy as well as to creating such
a jural state where the dignity and freedom of the human being and the
citizen are of utmost value. The adoption of the NKR Constitution has
confirmed once again the irreversibility of this process, the will and
aspirations of our people to realize the right to live in free and just
society that secures equal development opportunities for everybody.
This conference is a good pretext to value the achievements of the NKR
in protecting human and citizen rights and freedoms as well as in
forming democratic an
d civil society. The state as the most important
guarantor of human and citizen rights protection will keep being
consistent and will further activate its efforts in this sphere. I
wish success and effective work to the participants of the conference.’

NAGORNO-KARABAKH – UNTIED TIES
Armen Ashotyan

"Noravank" Foundation
08 December 2008

Introduction: While speaking about "frozen conflicts" the international
analytical community, basing on various political and global interests,
often takes under a common umbrella the processes relating to the
international status of not recognized states of Post-Soviet territory.

However, the new factual classification of those conflicts has been
clearly outlined recently, according to which now they are observed
due to supremacy of the Russian component – Abkhazia, Predniester,
South Ossetia, and without supremacy of the Russian component –
Nagorno-Karabakh, problems.

Such a distinction is resulted by a number of factors, including
maximal independent position of the Armenian parties and characteristic
geopolitical peculiarities of the NKR conflict.

Independent of international diplomatic developments progressing around
the NKR, it is to be stated as a fact that the whole international
activity is directed not so much at the NKR conflict settlement as
at the issue of giving the already settled conflict international
status and recognition. To make this provision clearer we may state
as a fact that:

Civilization centers have once and for all realized inexpediency of
all the possible projects of returning the NKR to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s political elite has to put up with the idea of losing
the NKR, and all the martial and pathetic declarations are dictated
by internal political motivations and "phantom pains" connected with
the lose of the NKR.

Armenia agrees to leave the perspective of joining the NKR to the RA
for the future.

The NKR will join Armenia as an independent ethno-territorial,
ethno-political entity.

As for characteristic peculiarities of the NKR issue, I’d like to
analyze it on a few plains.

Legal: Although it has long been known that the norms of the
international right in up-to-date world predominantly work only for
or in case of protecting corresponding interests (I’ll later return
to these interests in the context of the NKR), nevertheless, it is
important to accurately formulate legal grounds/arguments of the
Armenian party, such as:

Formation of the NKR in the legislation of the USSR.

Proclamation of the Republic of Azerbaijan ("Proclamation of
reestablishing the Republic of Azerbaijan’s state independence")
as a successor of PRA, accordingly, without the territory of the NKR.

Taking into consideration the fact that the local analysts often turn
to the above mentioned legal norms, let me not to get in details).

The NKR conflict has been settled as realization of the rights
of nations for self-determination confirmed in the 8th principle
of the Helsinki Final Act, and, before that, in the UN "Universal
Declaration of Human Right s" and "International Convention on Civil
and Political rights."

I’d also like to repeat the thesis that there are no contradictions
with the principle of territorial integrity, as the first one
refers to intergovernmental relations, and the second one (right for
self-determination) applies to the nation living in the framework of
the very state.

And finally, even if we imagine for a minute that as a result of work
carried out by the Azerbaijani propagandistic machine Armenia will
be considered as a state encroaching upon territorial integrity of
the neighbor country, than in "Universal Declaration of Human Right"
(October 24, 1970) it is asserted that the principle of territorial
integrity is not applied to the countries which don’t ensure equality
of the nations living there and their right for self-determination. In
the very declaration it is mentioned that to carry out that rights
it is necessary creation of an independent state, unification with
another state or acquisition of another political status.

Geostrategy: Global political and economic characteristics traits of
the South Caucasus are:

Transit (energy carriers, railway and motor roads) Their own energy
carriers (Azerbaijani sector of the Caspian Sea) Control (Central
Asia, the Near East) Up-to-date functional roles of Nagorno-Karabakh
in global politics are the following:

Possible fulcrum against the Islamic Republic of Iran thanks to the
0D common land boundary.

Impediment to build a Pan-Turkic bridge: Potential threat
against security and uninterrupted functioning of regional energy
communications: A lever of effective influence on the Republic of
Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan: NKR is not only the "own"
problem of NKR, RA, RF, it is also the problem of international
political elite.

The NKR issue is "autonomous" but it is not "independent," it is
interconnected with other geopolitical and geo-economic conflicts.

Political: International political process around the NKR is paving
its way through the political pyramid consisting of corresponding
interested subjects on top of which is the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic,
in the basis – RF, USA and EU, and in the middle layer – RA-AR and
Turkey -Iran couples accordingly.

NKR.RF – AR.Turkey – Iran.Russia – USA-EU As one can notice,
the political process which began as a result of realizing the
NKR nation’s self-determination, spreads from its epicenter (NKR)
embracing a wider interested circle – RF, EU. US.

Turning this conditional pyramid upside-down we can figuratively
represent which interests in the process of international recognition
of the NKR status are compressed on top of the system – in the NKR
(from top to bottom).

Armenian axioms: International political process progressing around
the NKR, nevertheless, is to be placed in the20framework of axioms
laid down by the Armenian party.

Axiom of confirming the realization of the NKR nation’s right for
self-determination.

Axiom of common land boundary between the NKR and the RA.

Axiom of international guarantee of the NKR’s independence.

On regional public welfares. As we could see, realization of the
NKR nation’s right for self-determination as well as the process
of giving international legitimacy to it faces the necessity of
harmonizing approaches of many actors which have regional interests
often contradicting each other.

However stubborn synthesis of minimal acceptable interests of the
Earth’s geopolitical actors seems to be, I dare to suggest a universal
synthetic agenda of policy in South-Caucasian region potentially
acceptable for them (not only connected with the NKR) and call it a
Regional public welfares:

regional stability, regional security, economic development, regional
economic integration, a common market, civil liberties, political
right, conservancy, struggle against terrorism and radicalism.

Karabakh conflict settlement – art of what is possible The NKR
international process aims at preserving its present situation –
"All the ways lead to status quo." There are several prerequisites
for such a situation.

Necessity for "peaceful coexistence" of the NKR and Baku-Tbilis-Ceyhan
oil carrier.

Absence of new regional mega-projects.

Secondarity of the NK R as a base in case of possible operations
against Iran.

In the foreseeable perspective unreality of final victory "geopolitical
overstretching of South-Caucasian rope."

Circumstance of being interconnection with neighbor regions.

RA FOREIGN MINISTER TO TAKE PART IN ARMENIA-EU COOPERATION COUNCIL SITTING IN BRUSSELS

Noyan Tapan

Dec 8, 2008

YEREVAN, DECEMBER 8, NOYAN TAPAN. RA Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian
leaves for Brussels on a working visit, where he will take part in the
Armenia-EU Cooperation Council sitting to be held on December 9. A
wide range of issues regarding cooperation of Armenia and European
Union, in particular, the process of European Neighborhood Policy
Actions Plan will be discussed at the sitting.

In Brussels E. Nalbandian will also sign an agreement on some aspects
of air communications between the Republic of Armenia and the European
community.

PRIME MINISTER VLADIMIR PUTIN AND HIS ARMENIAN COUNTERPART TIGRAN SARGSYAN MADE STATEMENTS FOR PRESS

States News Service
December 5, 2008 Friday

The following information was released by the government of the
Russian Federation:

Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, friends and
colleagues.

I would like to greet our Armenian friends and colleagues once
again. This is the first visit by Tigran Sargsyan as Prime Minister. We
welcome him.

Before sharing my opinion with you on the talks we had, I would like
to speak about one important subject.

The day after tomorrow, December 7, we will observe a mournful date
– 20 years since the devastating earthquake of 1988. This dreadful
disaster was a tragedy for all peoples in the U.S.S.R.

We are mourning the tens of thousands of people who perished during
those painful days. We remember the heroic exploits and selfless work
of volunteers from all Soviet regions who came to Armenia’s rescue. The
day after tomorrow, a monument devoted to the earthquake’s victims and
rescue teams’ exploits will be unveiled in Gyumri, former Leninakan.

The monument was built on the initiative of the Russian public and
on voluntary donations. This is evidence of the durable friendship
between the Russian and Armenian people.

Today, we discussed all aspects of our cooperation in all
areas. Naturally, we focused on economic cooperation.

This year, experts have registered dynamic development of bilateral
trade and economic contacts. Trade is steadily going up; this year,
it has increased by almost 17%.

Russian investments are promoting the Armenian economic upsurge. They
have already exceeded $1.6 billion.

We consider the expansion of big Russian companies like Gazprom,
INTER RAO UES, Russian Railways, and some banks, the VTB Bank, for
instance, in Armenia to be quite useful.

We have good prospects for joint projects in the fuel and energy
sector, non-ferrous metallurgy, transportation, construction, banking,
and information technologies.

The Russian-Armenian Intergovernmental Commission is working to
further promote bilateral economic contacts. During the talks, we
expressed satisfaction with its performance.

At the same time, we understand quite well that the achieved results
are far from reaching the limits of our potentialities, and will
continue to further develop our cooperation.

We have exchanged opinions on joint steps in trade and the economy,
and talked about the problems linked with the global financial crisis,
issues that affect our two countries in various ways.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that the Russian side is
satisfied with the course of today’s talks. They are not over yet. At
this time, Mr Prime Minister and I will have an extended meeting with
a number of Russian colleagues. We will talk about some aspects of
our cooperation in more detail.

Thank you for your attention.

Tigran Sargsyan: Good afternoon, Mr Putin and other colleagues.

First of all, I would like to express my condolences in connection with
the death of the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, Alexy II. This
is sad news not only for Russians, but also for Armenians. We have
always had warm feelings for the Patriarch, and were aware of his
attention. During his patriarchate, the Russian Orthodox Church
developed very warm relations with the Armenian Apostolic Church. I’m
confident that all Armenians are mourning the Patriarch’s death
together with the Russian people.

I’d like to thank Mr. Putin for finding time for negotiations despite
such a sad event.

Our relations boil down to a strategic partnership. Obviously, now
that the global economy is going through the financial and economic
crisis, consultations and meetings are very important for our country,
because we need to coordinate our actions. In this case, it will be
easier for us to overcome the current economic hardships.

As Mr Putin noted, our economic relations are developing
dynamically. We highly appreciate the performance of the
Intergovernmental Commission. From this perspective, this has
been a rather successful year for our cooperation. All energy and
infrastructure projects have made steady headway. This year is
special because our economic contacts and partnership have expanded
substantially, going beyond such traditional spheres as energy and
infrastructure. There is not a single sphere of human endeavor where
we do not have joint projects.

Today, more than a thousand Russian companies are actively expanding
their operation in Armenia, and our goal is to create favourable
conditions for their effective work. On the whole, we are satisfied
with our economic relations, and hope that new agreements will help
us overcome the current economic hardships.

Thank you.

PLAY READING TO HONOR LATE SMITH ALUMNA

Smith College Grécourt Gat
Dec 8 2008
MA

The late Leah Ryan AC’93, a playwright, essayist, and writer of
post-modern greeting cards, was a woman of letters. She graduated with
honors from Smith, winning the Denis Johnston prize for excellence in
playwriting three times and the Jill Cummins MacLean Prize once. Ryan
then earned her Artist Diploma in Playwriting at Julliard and her
MFA from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where she won the
Distinguished Teaching award and was twice chosen to take part in
the annual Iowa Playwrights Festival.

Ryan died on June 12, 2008, of leukemia.

On Thursday, Dec. 11, the Smith theatre department will present a
staged reading of Ryan’s play The Wire, in her memory. Directed by
Holly Derr, a lecturer in theatre, the reading will take place at 7:30
p.m. in Earle Recital Hall, Sage. It is free and open to the public.

The Wire, which was first produced at Smith in 2002, was named a
semi-finalist in PlayLabs in 2005. Ryan described her play this way:
"You go to sleep, you have a nightmare about being up on the high
wire in front of thousands of people. In the dream, you start to
fall. Then everyone else starts to fall. And then you wake up. Or else,
you don’t. And if you manage to survive, perhaps even the simple act
of setting foot on the floor will seem impossible."

Ryan’s plays are performed all over the United States. Her play Bleach,
a dark comedy about the legacy of the Armenian genocide, received
the Maibaum Award for plays dealing with issues of social justice.

Ryan taught playwriting, English, and creative writing to a wide
variety of students, including at the Laboratory Institute of
Merchandising, where she was a professor in the Arts and Communications
department and founder of their Writing Center. She also worked with
groups of high school and college students at Vassar College and
at New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse Theater Apprentice Training
Program. She received a grant from the New York State Council on the
Arts for her work with Epic Theatre Centre, creating modern adaptations
of classic plays with groups of middle and high school students.

Her publications include the literary anthology For Here or To Go,
Even More Monologues by Women for Women, essays in The Best of Temp
Slave, as well as work in many small magazines. Her play Pigeon was
published by Playscripts, Inc. Her short work also appeared in 400
Words, including the debut issue. She was Fiction Editor and a regular
columnist at Punk Plant magazine.

Holly Derr teaches acting, directing, theater history, and
play analysis at Smith. She recently directed House of Gold,
by Gregory Moss, at the PlayPenn New Play Development Festival in
Philadelphia, and Common Decency, by Ann Marie Healy, with the Brown
University/Trinity Repertory Consortium. Her New York productions
include Anatomy of Isabelle: A Reconstructed Production, The Vagina
Monologues, Monsieur X: Here Called Pierre Rabier, In the Penal Colony,
When We Dead Awaken, Hollywoodland, Cymbeline, and Like It Is.

–Boundary_(ID_9Mmzi6sAcw7PBgv3GUpeEw)–

KRADJIAN SHINES FROM THE SHADOWS
John Terauds

Toronto Star
548613
Dec 6 2008
Ontario

Accompanying and arranging music for his wife, Isabel Bayrakdarian,
has paid off with Grammy nod

Some people prefer working alone in the spotlight. Others draw strength
and inspiration from collaborations.

Toronto pianist Serouj Kradjian belongs in the second category,
which may be why not many of us are yet aware of the substantial
talent living and working in our midst.

His biggest claim-to-fame right now is accompanying and arranging music
for his wife, soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian. Their latest collaboration,
a disc of songs by Armenian composer Gomidas, which Kradjian arranged
for chamber orchestra, earned Bayrakdarian a Grammy nomination for
Best Vocal Performance on Wednesday night.

As of this season, the pianist has also become a member of the
Amici Chamber Ensemble, as well as writing new music for them. This
high-powered chamber group includes Toronto Symphony principal clarinet
Joaquin Valdepeñas and assistant principal cello David Hetherington.

What you won’t find Kradjian doing, at least in this part of the world,
is playing solo piano.

The roots of his unprepossessing need to share comes from an early
childhood in civil war-ravaged Beirut. Kradjian, now in his mid-30s,
is the oldest of four boys, born of Armenian ex-pats living in Lebanon
– by many accounts, an idyllic place to live before it was torn apart
by civil war starting in the mid-1970s.

Kradjian’s parents weren’t going to let anything get in the way of
their son’s musical education. "When my father decided to bring in a
piano in the middle of the war, everybody thought he’s crazy, because
that was the last thing people were thinking about," Kradjian relates
of a fateful day when he was 5 years old.

The piano was carried up to the family’s fourth-floor apartment in
downtown Beirut, "where it became a source of love, if I can describe
it in one word," Kradjian continues.

The building’s residents would cower in basement bunkers during periods
of heavy shelling. "When there was a break in the bombardments, my
father would take me up to the fourth floor so that I could practise
a bit," the pianist recalls.

"My parents used to sit beside me when I practised – they were vocal
critics sometimes, appreciative sometimes – but it really became
something which made us forget for a while the situation outside.

"That’s my memory of what this instrument could do."

Even though a piano is not portable, Kradjian’s father had chosen it
because there were a lot of piano teachers around, he says.

By the 1980s, the Kradjians, like so many other Lebanese, had given
up on peace returning to their ruined country. They were also afraid
that their sons would eventually be called for military service,
so they emigrated to Toronto.

Kradjian graduated with a degree in piano performance from the
University of Toronto in 1994, then went to the world-renowned
Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Hanover, Germany, to study with
a favourite pianist, Einar Steen-Nokleberg. "His claim to fame is
the complete Grieg works for piano for the Naxos label," Kradjian
says. "It’s wonderful. For me, it’s the recording of those pieces."

Kradjian hadn’t made a final commitment to a piano career until he
went to Germany. There, the school emphasized practical work over
theory. It is also where he discovered the joys of collaborating
with other musicians instead of spending solitary hours every day
practising solo material. "Looking around, all I saw was participating
in competitions. For most of my friends, not only pianists, it was
the thing to do," says Kradjian.

"So I made a conscious decision. It was not that I didn’t like
competitions, but I found them too limiting and too lonely, both
on the stage and off the stage. I wanted to explore every type of
music making."

After graduating from Hanover, Kradjian took a teaching post at
the conservatory in Madrid, and made his first solo recordings with
Warner Music Spain. He is still officially on the faculty, but only
goes for master classes.

"Toronto is my main home base now," says Kradjian. He and Bayrakdarian
have a son, Ari, who turned 1 yesterday. Home is an important place
to be right now.

Kradjian says the first chamber music concert he ever attended was
given by Amici. Patricia Parr, the ensemble’s pianist for two decades,
was his chamber-music teacher at U of T. So he feels honoured to be
able to pick up where Parr left off after retiring at the end of the
2005-06 season.

Kradjian’s professional ideal is French pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet,
known worldwide as a superb accompanist and chamber-music collaborator
– as well as a top solo performer.

Tomorrow afternoon, Amici is getting together at the Glenn Gould
Studio to will play a new composition by Kradjian, as well as Olivier
Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time, in honour of what would have
been the French composer’s 100th birthday on Dec. 10. (For ticket info,
go to glenngouldstudio.cbc.ca/concerts/current/dec.html)

That masterpiece was written and first performed in a prisoner-of-war
camp during World War II.

It’s fair to say that Kradjian may have been better prepared than
most to tackle the intense emotions and spiritual reflections behind
this music born in conflict.

————————————— —————————————–

Arrangi ng his way toward Grammy glory

Late last summer, Isabel Bayrakdarian, left, released an album of
songs by Armenian composer Gomidas, recorded by the Armenian Chamber
Orchestra (a program the couple presented live in October at Roy
Thomson Hall with the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra).

Bayrakdarian earned a Grammy nomination on Wednesday for her vocal
performance on that album.

All of the orchestral arrangements were by Serouj Kradjian, who came
up with the light-as-air textures through trial and error: "Doing it,
listening to it, learning from my mistakes – learning what I don’t
like, what I like," he says.

Kradjian calls Gomidas’s piano originals "almost minimalist. There
are few notes on the page." So he wanted to be careful not to change
the music’s character. The pianist says it’s important to capture the
"meaning of the music, to give a why you’re orchestrating it.

"There was a temptation to go bigger – symphony orchestra," instead
of chamber, he admits. "I started out, for some songs, to do a bigger
orchestra, but it did not convince me at all because it completely
changed the character."

Gomidas has been rearranged "many times," for string quartet for
example, but Kradjian says these versions are not true to Gomidas’s
compositional spirit.

Kradjian says he works away from the piano most of the time when
arranging or composing, because he can hear the orchestra in his
head. It gives pianists more depth at the keyboard. "I believe it
really contributes to their imagination of sound and what they want
to bring out from a particular piano piece."

–Boundary_(ID_HvHuK+Cag8mU+DF4smc4c w)–

PanARMENIAN.Net

OSCE MG FM statement can facilitate Karabakh process
06.12.2008 16:15 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian met in
Helsinki with Finnish Foreign Minister, OSCE Chairman-in-Office
Alexander Stubb to discuss the recent developments in the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict settlement process.

`The statement adopted by Foreign Ministers of the OSCE MG co-chair
states can facilitate the Karabakh process,’ Mr. Nalbandian said.

Ministers Nalbandian and Stubb also exchanged views on development of
the Armenian-Finnish relations.

Foreign Ministers of France, Russia, and the United States – the
co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group – issued a joint
declaration of the on Nagorno Karabakh conflict, which says:

`We, the Foreign Ministers of the OSCE Minsk Group’s Co-Chair
countries ` France, Russia, and the United States ` call on the
parties to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict to build on the positive
momentum established during the meeting of the Presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan in Moscow on November 2, 2008. The Moscow Declaration
signed that same day opened a new and promising phase in our shared
endeavor to expand peace in the South Caucasus. In that declaration,
the Presidents reaffirm their commitment to advancing a peaceful
settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in the framework of the
Basic Principles developed by the Minsk Group Co-Chairs in
collaboration with the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis
of their proposals advanced last year in Madrid.

We call on the parties to work with the Co-Chairs to finalize the
Basic Principles in coming months, and then begin drafting a
comprehensive peace settlement as outlined by those agreed
principles. In keeping with the Moscow Declaration, we call on the
parties to work with the Co-Chairs to develop confidence-building
measures, beginning with pulling back snipers from the Line of Contact
to save lives of innocent civilians and soldiers as our mediators
already proposed to the sides at the highest level during the last
visit mid November. It is urgent for the parties to work with each
other, the Co-Chairs, and the Personal Representative of the Chairman
in Office to stabilize the ceasefire through this and other
measures. We reiterate our firm view that there is no military
solution to the conflict and call on the parties to recommit to a
peaceful resolution.’