Arlington Advocate, MA

Famous American pianist to give recital

By Nicole Laskowski

Fri Sep 26, 2008, 06:30 AM EDT

Arlington, Mass. –

A legendary American pianist will perform a piano recital at the
Armenian Cultural Foundation, 441 Mystic St., on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 3
p.m. Martin Berkofsky, a musical master and an authoritative voice on
the life and music of Arlington composer Alan Hovhaness, will perform
a benefit concert to commemorate Hovhaness, who would have turned 100
in 2011.

Like Hovhaness himself, Berkofsky has an intriguing life story. A
child prodigy who began performing publicly at the age of 8, Berkofsky
traveled the world performing with world-renown orchestras and
recording passages of music. He studied with musicians such as Polish
pianist Mieczyslaw Munz and Konrad Wolff.

In 1982, Berkofsky was in a motorcycle accident in Iceland, which
injured both his back and broke his right arm in several places. He
was told he would never perform again. But Berkofsky did recover, and
he’s given his life to combining music with humanitarian efforts. He’s
now known as `the benefit concert pianist.’

While he is known for his performances of Liszt, he is also known for
his devotion to the works of Hovhaness, a world famous
Armenian-American composer who grew up at 5 Blossom St. and graduated
from Arlington High School. Hovhaness went on to compose more than 500
pieces of music, which reflect and resonate how inspired he was by
various cultures and by the natural surroundings he encountered,
including the mountains, the sounds of whales and the eruption of
volcanoes.

Berkofsky met Hovhaness back in the 1970s, and they remained in
contact throughout Hovhaness’ life, which ended in 2000. After
Hovhaness died, Berkofsky has helped to keep this Arlingtonian’s music
alive by working to establish the Alan Hovhaness International
Research Centre and performing world premiere events of Hovhaness’
compositions in Armenia, Russia and Turkey.

On Oct. 5, Berkofsky will be joined by two other musicians: Lawrence
Sobol on clarinet and Ani Hovsepian on piano. While most of the
concert will focus on Hovhaness, the pianist also plans on performing
pieces by Franz Schubert and Franz Liszt.

Berkofsky is also launching the `All Men are Brothers’ memorial run
and marathon concert tour, a reflection on Hovhaness’ 11th Symphony by
the same name.

The run will begin in early June 2009 in the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia, and ends 560 miles later in Arlington at 5 Blossom St.,
where Hovhaness grew up. Berkofsky plans to run 10 miles a day while
fundraising for the construction of the Alan Hovhaness International
Research Center in Yerevan, Armenia. Berkofsky is still trying to iron
out details of his marathon, including places to stay and places to
perform. More information is available at
ers.html.

The Oct. 5 concert is the second event coordinated by the recently
formed Alan Hovhaness Commemorative Committee, established by Paquale
Tassone, Bob Mirak, Jack Johnston, Aruthr Maranian, John Bilafer, Ara
Ghazarian, and Elizabeth Gregory, to honor Hovahness.

Tickets for the Berkofsky benefit concert are $25 and can be purchased
by calling the Armenian Cultural Foundation at 781-646-3090 or
e-mailing act.hmh@verizon.net. Space is limited. Proceeds will be used
to purchase a plaque in memory of Hovhaness. The plaque will be placed
on the grounds of the Arlington High School during a dedication
ceremony on May 17, 2009 with a concert to follow.