NAREH ARGHAMANYAN: VIRTUOSITY AND HEART
Joseph So

La Scena Musicale
10 July 2008
Canada

Nineteen-year-old Armenian pianist combines technical brilliance and
uncommon musicality to win MIMC Grand Prize

Sitting face to face with Nareh Arghamanyan in her dressing room during
a break from rehearsal of the MIMC Gala Concert, one is struck by her
large and luminous eyes, her shy yet friendly manner, and above all,
the articulate and mature way she handles herself in an interview. Her
arms and hands are deceptively slender, hardly hinting at the power
and energy she brings to her music making, which a delighted Montreal
audience had experienced at the finals two nights earlier. Where does
it all come from? "It’s from God," Arghamanyan says with a smile. "He
gave me the talent and I use it for His glory."

Born on January 21, 1989, in Vanadzor, Armenia, to a professional
family – "my father is a lawyer and my mother a textile engineer,
although she also studied piano in music school" -, Nareh Arghamanyan
was four when she had her first encounter with destiny. It was 1993
and times were hard in Armenia in the aftermath of the break-up of
the Soviet Union. "There was no electricity, and my mother was already
pregnant with my brother. She put me in front of a piano to let me play
with this ‘toy’," she says. Three hours went by and the young Nareh
continued in the dark after the candle had burned out. The following
year, her parents enrolled her at the Tchaikovsky Music School for
Gifted Children in Yerevan, where she studied with Alexander Gurgenov.

Her prodigious talent was recognized quickly: she won the first of a
string of competitions in Novi Sad, Yugoslavia, at the age of 8, in
1997. This was followed by First Prize at the International Competition
for Young Talents in the Ukraine (1998), and Second Prize at the Gina
Bachauer Junior Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (2000). In 2004,
Arghamanyan entered the Universität fur Musik und darstellende Kunst
in Vienna, under the tutelage of Heinz Medjimorec. More successes
followed – First Prize at the Josef Dichler Piano Competition in Vienna
(2005), Herbert von Karajan Award (2006), First Prize at the Piano
Campus International in Pontoise, France (2007), and Second Prize at
the José Roca International Competition in Valencia, Spain (2007).

Even with the surfeit of great talent one encounters at major
competitions, Arghamanyan stands out as someone special. Technical
virtuosity is a given at this level, but she also brings a sensitivity
and artistic maturity to her playing that belies her youth. Her playing
is entirely at the service of the music, unlike some established
pianists who pander to the audience with affected mannerisms and
showmanship. There is nothing artificial in Arghamanyan’s movements at
the keyboard – everything she does comes from the heart. Watching her
play the Tchaikovsky No. 1, one is struck by how the music just flows
out of her body. "Music is more than just sound," she explains. "It
comes from the composer’s heart and our duty is to share it with the
audience. Too much ‘show’ and the inner feeling is lost."

Arghamanyan currently lives with her mother and siblings in Vienna,
where she is finishing her Master’s degree. Next year will be a
watershed for Nareh, when her teacher Medjimorec retires. Their
four-year teacher-student relationship has been important for
Arghamanyan. Armenians are a warm and passionate people, so studying
in the Germanic tradition took some initial adjustments. "I was warmer
(in temperament) than the Austrians when I went to Vienna. My teacher
kept saying, ‘not too much emotion’! " she laughs. "I think it has to
be a balance between the heart and the head." There is of course no
substitute for hard work. When she was 6 or 7, 8-hour practice days
were the norm, but given her heavy schedule at the university, the
hours in front of the keyboard are less, although she makes up for
it on weekends. When there’s a rare free moment, she enjoys reading
novels, detective stories side by side with Dostoevsky! And living
in Vienna means visits to museums to enjoy her favourite paintings
of van Gogh, Monet, and Goya.

Arghamanyan is not sure what she’ll do after her Master’s. With 15
concertos already in her repertoire, she can easily concertize full
time. "I enjoy playing with orchestra," she tells us. But given her
youth and her affinity for competitions, she’ll likely try her hand
at more in the future. Any plans for the substantial prize money from
Montreal? "I am the wage earner, paying for my brother’s and sister’s
education and our living expenses in Vienna. I’ll use it to repay
some money I borrowed," she answers. The MIMC win also means she will
have the opportunity to make her first commercial recording. Future
dates include a reprise of the Tchaikovsky No. 1 with the Boston Pops
in July, and a two-month piano fellowship at Tanglewood. It appears
Ms. Arghamanyan is well on her way.

Parting thoughts – for all her successes in the big, showy repertoires
of Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, Arghamanyan’s favourite composer is
Bach. "It used to be Chopin, but now it’s Bach, Beethoven, Brahms,
Schumann and Schubert," she confides. A piece she is currently working
on is Goldberg Variations. She explains, "Glenn Gould’s playing of
this inspires me, as does Rosalind Tureck. When I play Bach, it heals
all problems and I am in heaven somewhere." n

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