ARMENIAN NATIONAL PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA TO PERFORM AT WALT DISNEY CONCERT HALL
By MassisPost
Updated: March 13, 2015
LOS ANGELES — The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (ANPO),
one of the leading orchestras of the former Soviet Union, under
the direction of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor Eduard
Topchjan performs at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Tuesday, May 12, at
8 pm. The concert marks the first time the 90-year-old institution
has performed at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
The program featuring music by Armenian composers opens with
Khachaturian’s Spartacus Suite from his acclaimed ballet. The next
work on the program is well-known classical and film score composer
Tigran Mansurian’s Violin Concerto, featuring Ms. Anush Nikoghosyan.
The program closes with Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.
The ANPO concert is dedicated to the Centennial of Armenian Genocide.
The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (ANPO) is based in
Yerevan, Armenia. Established 90 years ago by Arshak Adamian and
Alexander Spendiaryan, it is the national center of professional
orchestral music in Armenia. In October 2000, Eduard Topchjan was
appointed the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the ANPO.
Being led to the new millennium by Maestro Topchjan the ANPO
is committed to promoting cultural, musical awareness in local
audiences, regularly performing classical and operatic music in
addition to national and contemporary music. Since its foundation, the
orchestra has performed most of the classical repertoire. Many of the
world’s leading artists, such as David Oistrakh, Sviatoslav Richter,
Mstislav Rostropovitch, Emil Gilels, Renato Bruson, Steven Isserlis,
Misha Maisky, Sergei Nakariakov, Boris Berezovsky, Natalia Gutman,
Giuseppe Giacomini, Isabelle Faust, Julia Fischer, Pinchas Zukerman,
Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet, Placido Domingo and many others, as well
as already established and emerging Armenian musicians, have appeared
with this orchestra. The ANPO features the works of Armenian and
international composers and is committed to supporting the performance
of new orchestral works in programs interesting not only for regular
visitors and connoisseurs, but also for tourists and young people. The
ANPO serves as Ambassador of Armenian music worldwide and tours
regularly. Since 1989, the ANPO has toured extensively throughout
the U.S., Canada, Austria, Germany, France, Switzerland, Luxembourg,
Lebanon, Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, Greece, Iran, Cyprus,
Turkey, Russia, and the U.A.E. Recent tours were to Japan in 2008 with
15 concerts, and Germany and Slovakia in 2010, and additional tours
in 2014 and 2015 to Italy, Germany, France and Scandinavian countries.
More than 30 CDs have been released with the orchestra’s recordings.
The most recent ones – Armenian Rhapsody, released in 2011 by BIS
Records, Sweden and Mozart Piano Concerti and Overtures released by
Oehms Classics, Germany in 2014, were highly acclaimed by international
reviewers.
Eduard Topchjan began conducting in 1991. Since then, he has founded
the Serenade Chamber Orchestra and won prizes at various international
competitions, such as Valentino Bucchi and Valzolda. Topchjan made
his debut with the ANPO in 2000. In 2001, after being appointed
Artistic Director and Principal Conductor he appeared with the ANPO
in Moscow, and again in 2003 at the Bolshoi Theater. This was followed
by the ANPO tours throughout the Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and
France. In 2008, the ANPO led by Topchjan made a very successful tour
in Japan with 15 concerts. More recently, the ANPO and Topchjan toured
Slovenia, Italy, Austria, Germany and Slovakia. Topchjan has also been
the principal conductor of the Yerevan International Music Festival
since 2007. Also in 2007, he was granted the title of Meritorious
Worker of Arts of Armenia. Other honors include being awarded a Gold
Medal of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia in 2011, and knighthood
awarded by the Italian Order of Merit for Labour in 2013.
Young Armenian violinist Anush Nikoghosyan was born in Yerevan. She
studied with Distinguished Teacher of Armenia Petros Haykazian
and currently studies at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater
Munchen (class of Prof. Christoph Poppen), with parallel classes
in Yerevan with Eduard Topchjan. Since 2014, Anush has been
studying master-classes with Professor Julia Fischer. As a soloist
she has appeared with Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, the Armenian
National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Kaerntner Sinfonieorchester,
Kurpfaelzisches kammerorchester Mannheim, the Moravian Philharmonic
Orchestra, the Kaunas Chamber Orchestra, the Armenian Chamber Players,
Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra
and other orchestras under the baton of Eduard Topchjan, Dmitri Liss,
Leos Svarovsky, Pavel Berman, Alexander Treger, Emmanuel Siffert,
Markus Bosch, Ernest Hoetzl and other conductors. Anush has won prizes
at numerous international violin competitions, most important from
them: 1st prize in 2010 “International Kaerntner Sparkasse Woerthersee”
competition (Austria). Following this significant win, Anush received
many invitations in some of the most prominent concert halls and with
renowned orchestras, including an invitation to perform at the well
known “Pacific Music Festival Sapporo” (Japan) as a soloist under Fabio
Luisi. Anush Nikoghosyan toured Armenia, Lithuania, Russia, England,
U.A.E., France, Czech Republic, Germany, Slovakia and Austria. She
often performs works by contemporary composers, among them: Mansurian,
Yerkanian, Dott, Penderecki, Zakaryan, Israelyan, Chaushian and others.