President Serzh Sargsyan received People’s Artist of Georgia and the USSR, composer Giya Kancheli who is in Armenia to attend the Yerevan music festival dedicated to Kancheli, scheduled for June 18-20.
Welcoming the renowned composer, the President of Armenia noted that Giya Kancheli’s art is loved and highly appreciated in Armenia, the evidence of which is the Yerevan Festival. According to the President, it is the best _expression_ of love and recognition of composer Kancheli’s musical heritage by the Armenian audience.
Serzh Sargsyan stressed that Armenia is always glad to host the well-known composer, who has made a great contribution to the strengthening of friendship between the Armenian and Georgian peoples.
In turn, Giya Kanceli noted that a considerable part of his creative activity had been associated with Armenia. Six of his seven symphonies were written at the Composers’ House in Dilijan; he has spent a lot of time in Armenia, thanks to which he has many good friends among Armenian composers. The well-known intellectual said to have kept warm memories of the meetings and contacts had with his Armenian friends and went on to emphasize that he is proud of all of them.
Noting that the Armenian-Georgian relations have reached a fairly high level now and go strengthening and deepening year after year, the interlocutors agreed in that the younger generation should be educated after the example of the representatives of the older generation, including the friendship between famous people in order to encourage and build up closer contacts in the field of culture.