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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 19, 2005
ARMENIAN PHILHARMONIC SHINES, HOSTS BAYRAKDARIAN, KRADJIAN, TREGER
North American and European Performers Enrich APO’s Season
The AGBU-funded Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra (APO) hosted an
impressive array of performances during May and July, including a
special Fourth of July concert with guest American conductor Alexander
Treger. The Orchestra also participated in the highly anticipated
“Il Barbiere de Siviglia” (The Barber of Seville) starring Canadian
soprano Isabel Bayrakdarian.
A YEREVAN FAVORITE
A rising star in the international opera world, Isabel Bayrakdarian
first performed in Armenia last year returning to perform one of
Mozart’s most popular operas under the direction of APO conductor,
Eduard Topchjan on May 25 and 27. Music was provided by the Serenade
Chamber Orchestra, Hover Chamber Choir and the wind section of
APO. Bayrakdarian appeared in the role of Rosina accompanied by two
other visiting singers: Georgia’s Besik Gabitashvili as Il Conte
d’Almaviva and France’s Souren Shahidjanian as Don Basilio.
Co-sponsored by Hamazgain Cultural Society, the May 25 performance
was broadcast by Armenia’s H-1 TV. Bayrakdarian, who was accompanied
by her husband pianist Serouj Kradjian, was closely followed by the
local media during her visit.
On May 29, pianist Serouj Kradjian presented Rachmaninov’s Piano
Concerto No. 3 in Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall and the performance
was conducted by Topchjan and dedicated to the Year of Russia in
Armenia.
APO’S MAY CONCERTS
APO performed eight concerts in May 2005: May 6, they welcomed
British violinist Hideko Udagawa whose latest CD with pianist Boris
Berezovsky featured the music of Aram Khachaturian and included seven
premiere recordings; May 13, another Brit, Alexander Ivashkin, led
APO during a dynamic program that included Alfred Schnittke’s “(K)ien
Sommernachtstraum,” Tigran Mansurian’s “Nachtmusik”and the Armenian
premiere of Charles Ives’ “Washington’s Birthday”; May 20, Sergei
Azizian, concertmaster of the Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestra,
visited his homeland to perform the work of Danish composer Carl
Nielsen; May 21, Hratchia Harutunian (Germany) and Barsegh Tumanian
performed in a program entitled, “An Evening of Violin and Vocal
Music”; May 23, American pianist Sahan Arzruni performed a benefit
concert for the Armenian Bone Marrow Transplant Donors Registry
Charitable Trust.
TREGER RETURNS
Russian American violinist and conductor, Alexander Treger conducted
APO on July 3 for a concert dedicated to the Independence Day of
the United States of America. In addition to the music of Liadov and
Tchaikovsky, there was an unannounced premiere of Caspar Diethelm’s
violin concerto, “Anubis,” by Swiss violinist Sibylle Tschopp.
Representatives of the American Embassy in Yerevan attended the
concert and the event began with welcoming remarks by U.S. Ambassador
to Armenia, John Evans.
As an encore to the evening’s performance, APO performed John Philip
Sousa’s rousing “The Stars and Stripes Forever.”
This was Treger’s second visit to Armenia and his second performance
with APO.
Formed over 75 years ago, APO has been primarily subsidized by AGBU
since 1992 in recognition of the importance of the performing arts
in Armenia. Annual grants are allocated for weekly concerts, new
instruments, administration, salary supplements, international guest
artists and special festivals. APO has successfully toured Austria,
England, France, Germany, Greece, Iran, Lebanon, Russia, Turkey, UAE
and the United States, and has produced over a dozen CD recordings. For
more information on APO, please visit or