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APPO JABARIAN, MAESTRO RAFFI KARAJANYAN, SFMF ARTISTIC DIRECTORS CATHERINE AND TONY ANGELO
http://www.armenianlife.com/2012/07/11/revered-unesco-artist-maestro-raffi-kharajanyan-honored-at-san-francisco-conservatory-of-music-international-music-festival-features-word-class-piano-duos/
Revered UNESCO Artist Maestro Raffi Kharajanyan Honored at San
Francisco Conservatory of Music
International Music Festival Features Word-Class Piano Duos
By Lorna Zilba
Founding Director, LifeDance Theater
Metro Arts International
While America celebrated July 4th with the typical family gatherings
and colorful sky light demonstrations, the real fireworks were
happening at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for the 4th
Salkind International Piano Duo Festival.
Seven world-class piano duos created explosive musical variations
honoring the 150th birthday of Debussy with a Parisian Fete theme. A
bi-annual presentation of the San Francisco International Music
Festival, the piano duo series is the brainchild of founding directors
Catherine and Anthony Angelo of the esteemed Bay Area-based Angelo Duo.
The largest of its kind in the USA, the festival offered a whirlwind
weekend (July 5th-7th) of three evening concerts, daily salon events,
a collaborative dance concert, a film screening (Olga Samaroff Story)
and a selection of young piano duos from the Salkind Junior Festival.
In addition, emerging artists enjoyed master classes with some of the
world's finest pianists, including four official Steinway artists:
Anderson & Roe (USA) and Duo Turgeon (Canada), Duo Pianistico di
Firenze (Italy), The Bergmann Piano Duo (Germany), The ZOFO Duet
(Japan & Switzerland), Angelo Piano Duo (USA) and Mutsuko Dohi, who
partnered renowned Armenian pianist, Raffi Kharajanyan, the recipient
of a lifetime achievement award at the Opening Night Gala.
The halls of the conservatory resounded with the dulcet tones of the
Parisian musical society from 1812-2012, celebrating 200 years of the
integral influence of French music, both classical and contemporary.
Performing on hand-made Steinway pianos, imported from Hamburg,
Germany, the cast of international duos ventured into the masterful
compositions of Satie, Ravel, Dukas, Bizet, Milhaud, Faure, Debussy
and Saint-Saens.
Commissioned works for the 2012 Salkind Festival included a world
premiere of Marcel Bergmann's Fantasy on Themes from Rossini's 'La
Cenerentola',and highly acclaimed composer and jazz pianist, George
Cables's Variations on Lullaby and My Muse.
Several festival-highlights featured inventive additions of film,
dance and narration. Among these collaborative ventures were: Duo
Pianistico di Firenze's rendition of Satie's Entr'acte symphonique
de Relache, which was set to the classic silent film Cinema (1924)
by Rene Clair, The Mark Foehringer Project dance company's pas de
deux, trio and ensemble choreography was interlaced with the music of
Debussy's Nocturnes (1897-99), performed by the Bergmann Piano Duo,
Le Cathedrale Engloutie (1910), performed by Raffi Kharajanyan and
Mutsuko Dohi, and Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le Toit, Opus 58 (1920),
performed by the ZOFO Duet. A film by producer Donna Kline, documented
the life of the turn-of-the-century legendary American pianist, Lucy
Hickenlooper. The piece-de-resistance was the Opening Night Gala
finale featuring a full stage of musicians for the popular music of
Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.
This crescendo of musical vignettes was embroidered with the
delightfully comedic Ogden Nash narration rendered expertly by guest
Armenian-American actor, Appo Jabarian.
The Opening Night Gala also featured a special awards ceremony. Among
the full cast of the festival's seasoned professionals, hailing
from around the globe, only one was honored as a true "maestro":
Raffi Kharajanyan, of the legendary Riga Piano Duo. Maestro Raffi
Kharajanyan was honored for his illustrious lifetime career in
music and was presented with a copy of the famous Rodin artwork of
sculptured hands. Peggy Salkind, of the landmark Salkind Piano, also
received a lifetime achievement award at the festival's second concert
evening. Ms. Salkind and her late husband, Milton, were instrumental
in the establishment of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and
the foundational support for the Salkind Piano Duo festivals.
Maestro Kharajanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia into the
prestigious musical family of reputed conductor Ispir Kharajanyan. He
graduated from the Yerevan P. Tchaikovsky Music School and completed
post-graduate studies at the Leningrad Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory
of Music. In addition to his advanced degrees in music (piano and
conducting0 he earned a doctorate in art and currently is a professor
with the national Academy of Music in Latvia.
Maestro Kharajanyan is proud of his Armenian heritage and hosted an
Armenian radio program in Latvia for over twenty years. He authored the
book The Piano Works by Aram Khachaturian and is one of the founders
and chairmen of the Armenian Society in Latvia, now reformed into the
Latvian Armenian Cultural Center. His piano virtuosity is featured
in the CD recording of Balasanyan's Four Novellas: A.
Davtyan-Poem, Tieknavoryan-Youth Dance, A. Khachatutyan-Three and
Arutyunyan-Babajanyan's Armenian Rhapsody. As an artist and activist,
he organized a cultural festival in Latvia dedicated to the 85th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 1700th anniversary of
the adoption of Christianity by Armenia.
Awarded the coveted title of Honored Artist of Latvia, the highest
recognition for artistic accomplishments in the former USSR, he was
also named a UNESCO Artist For Peace, received the Award for "Social
Harmony" of the Soros Foundation, Three Star Order of Latvia, the
Honorary Silver Mark of the Association of National Cultural Societies,
and special awards from the composers unions of St.
Petersburg, Latvia and the Urals. Maestro Kharajanyan's accomplishments
also include screenwriting for film and television on the theme
of Riga ethnic culture, as well as, articles on ethnic culture
and politics. Since 2003, he has been Artistic Director of United
In Diversity, the annual arts festival of national minorities in
Latvia. His exceptional coaching skills in piano and chamber ensemble
arrangements have landed many emerging artists and protege students
winning placements in some of the world's most challenging musical
competitions.
Maestro Kharajanyan, the esteemed roster of artists and the San
Francisco International Music Festival may be proud of the 4th Salkind
International Piano Duo Festival, which brought the elite of French
musical compositions to its knees and the festival audiences to their
feet. The exquisite technique and artistry of each and every performer
exemplified the epitome of piano virtuosity and left a quiet hush of
breathless anticipation for what the next festival's musical ingenuity
will bring.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
http://www.armenianlife.com/2012/07/11/revered-unesco-artist-maestro-raffi-kharajanyan-honored-at-san-francisco-conservatory-of-music-international-music-festival-features-word-class-piano-duos/
Revered UNESCO Artist Maestro Raffi Kharajanyan Honored at San
Francisco Conservatory of Music
International Music Festival Features Word-Class Piano Duos
By Lorna Zilba
Founding Director, LifeDance Theater
Metro Arts International
While America celebrated July 4th with the typical family gatherings
and colorful sky light demonstrations, the real fireworks were
happening at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music for the 4th
Salkind International Piano Duo Festival.
Seven world-class piano duos created explosive musical variations
honoring the 150th birthday of Debussy with a Parisian Fete theme. A
bi-annual presentation of the San Francisco International Music
Festival, the piano duo series is the brainchild of founding directors
Catherine and Anthony Angelo of the esteemed Bay Area-based Angelo Duo.
The largest of its kind in the USA, the festival offered a whirlwind
weekend (July 5th-7th) of three evening concerts, daily salon events,
a collaborative dance concert, a film screening (Olga Samaroff Story)
and a selection of young piano duos from the Salkind Junior Festival.
In addition, emerging artists enjoyed master classes with some of the
world's finest pianists, including four official Steinway artists:
Anderson & Roe (USA) and Duo Turgeon (Canada), Duo Pianistico di
Firenze (Italy), The Bergmann Piano Duo (Germany), The ZOFO Duet
(Japan & Switzerland), Angelo Piano Duo (USA) and Mutsuko Dohi, who
partnered renowned Armenian pianist, Raffi Kharajanyan, the recipient
of a lifetime achievement award at the Opening Night Gala.
The halls of the conservatory resounded with the dulcet tones of the
Parisian musical society from 1812-2012, celebrating 200 years of the
integral influence of French music, both classical and contemporary.
Performing on hand-made Steinway pianos, imported from Hamburg,
Germany, the cast of international duos ventured into the masterful
compositions of Satie, Ravel, Dukas, Bizet, Milhaud, Faure, Debussy
and Saint-Saens.
Commissioned works for the 2012 Salkind Festival included a world
premiere of Marcel Bergmann's Fantasy on Themes from Rossini's 'La
Cenerentola',and highly acclaimed composer and jazz pianist, George
Cables's Variations on Lullaby and My Muse.
Several festival-highlights featured inventive additions of film,
dance and narration. Among these collaborative ventures were: Duo
Pianistico di Firenze's rendition of Satie's Entr'acte symphonique
de Relache, which was set to the classic silent film Cinema (1924)
by Rene Clair, The Mark Foehringer Project dance company's pas de
deux, trio and ensemble choreography was interlaced with the music of
Debussy's Nocturnes (1897-99), performed by the Bergmann Piano Duo,
Le Cathedrale Engloutie (1910), performed by Raffi Kharajanyan and
Mutsuko Dohi, and Milhaud's Le Boeuf sur le Toit, Opus 58 (1920),
performed by the ZOFO Duet. A film by producer Donna Kline, documented
the life of the turn-of-the-century legendary American pianist, Lucy
Hickenlooper. The piece-de-resistance was the Opening Night Gala
finale featuring a full stage of musicians for the popular music of
Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals.
This crescendo of musical vignettes was embroidered with the
delightfully comedic Ogden Nash narration rendered expertly by guest
Armenian-American actor, Appo Jabarian.
The Opening Night Gala also featured a special awards ceremony. Among
the full cast of the festival's seasoned professionals, hailing
from around the globe, only one was honored as a true "maestro":
Raffi Kharajanyan, of the legendary Riga Piano Duo. Maestro Raffi
Kharajanyan was honored for his illustrious lifetime career in
music and was presented with a copy of the famous Rodin artwork of
sculptured hands. Peggy Salkind, of the landmark Salkind Piano, also
received a lifetime achievement award at the festival's second concert
evening. Ms. Salkind and her late husband, Milton, were instrumental
in the establishment of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and
the foundational support for the Salkind Piano Duo festivals.
Maestro Kharajanyan was born in Yerevan, Armenia into the
prestigious musical family of reputed conductor Ispir Kharajanyan. He
graduated from the Yerevan P. Tchaikovsky Music School and completed
post-graduate studies at the Leningrad Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory
of Music. In addition to his advanced degrees in music (piano and
conducting0 he earned a doctorate in art and currently is a professor
with the national Academy of Music in Latvia.
Maestro Kharajanyan is proud of his Armenian heritage and hosted an
Armenian radio program in Latvia for over twenty years. He authored the
book The Piano Works by Aram Khachaturian and is one of the founders
and chairmen of the Armenian Society in Latvia, now reformed into the
Latvian Armenian Cultural Center. His piano virtuosity is featured
in the CD recording of Balasanyan's Four Novellas: A.
Davtyan-Poem, Tieknavoryan-Youth Dance, A. Khachatutyan-Three and
Arutyunyan-Babajanyan's Armenian Rhapsody. As an artist and activist,
he organized a cultural festival in Latvia dedicated to the 85th
anniversary of the Armenian Genocide and the 1700th anniversary of
the adoption of Christianity by Armenia.
Awarded the coveted title of Honored Artist of Latvia, the highest
recognition for artistic accomplishments in the former USSR, he was
also named a UNESCO Artist For Peace, received the Award for "Social
Harmony" of the Soros Foundation, Three Star Order of Latvia, the
Honorary Silver Mark of the Association of National Cultural Societies,
and special awards from the composers unions of St.
Petersburg, Latvia and the Urals. Maestro Kharajanyan's accomplishments
also include screenwriting for film and television on the theme
of Riga ethnic culture, as well as, articles on ethnic culture
and politics. Since 2003, he has been Artistic Director of United
In Diversity, the annual arts festival of national minorities in
Latvia. His exceptional coaching skills in piano and chamber ensemble
arrangements have landed many emerging artists and protege students
winning placements in some of the world's most challenging musical
competitions.
Maestro Kharajanyan, the esteemed roster of artists and the San
Francisco International Music Festival may be proud of the 4th Salkind
International Piano Duo Festival, which brought the elite of French
musical compositions to its knees and the festival audiences to their
feet. The exquisite technique and artistry of each and every performer
exemplified the epitome of piano virtuosity and left a quiet hush of
breathless anticipation for what the next festival's musical ingenuity
will bring.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress