Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
July 13, 2017 Thursday


'Armenia International Music Festival and Competition was impressive
with its scope' - Alexey Shor



YEREVAN, JULY 13, ARMENPRESS.Armenia International Music Festival and
Competition came to its outline. More than a week it gave a festive
mood to the fans of classical music who had an opportunity to enjoy
not only the “pearls” of classical music, but the compositions of
modern composer Alexey Shor. The composer’s compositions are performed
by the best orchestras and soloists of the world within the framework
of the most famous festivals.

Armenpress presents the interview with the composer:

- Mr. Shor, you are the composer-in-residence of the “Armenia”
International Competition and Festival. How do you assess the event
that has been going on in Yerevan for more than a week?

-First of all, I would like to say that I am very happy to be in
Armenia and the composer-in-residence of the festival. The festival
really impressed me with its scope: three orchestras, four conductors,
many international stars and majority of them are from Armenia. I
would like to highlight the piano competition that was held within the
framework of the festival. It was a pleasure to see that my
compositions were included as mandatory program for the competition.
In general, I must say that it was a great idea to unite the festival
and the competition. The jury members and contestants were involved in
the concert life of the festival, attended concerts, communicated with
artists, and were not encompassed just within the framework of
competitions, as it is often arranged so. On the other hand, we should
remember that the competition in Yerevan was the stage of selection
for the grandiose competition, which will be held in Malta in 2018.

- Throughout the concerts of the festival your music was presented and
the audience warmly welcomed it. What are your impressions of the
Armenian audience?

-Absolutely wonderful audience, very warm and sympathetic! And also
very spontaneous! I was very pleased to see many people come up to
express their emotions and feelings right after the performance, at
the concert hall.

- Pieces from your suite "Childhood memories" were performed during
the competition. In fact, forty-eight participants from different
countries learned your compositions and presented their vision. You
have already listened to the contestants. What's your impression?

-Yes, of course, it was very interesting for me to listen to the
performances of the contestants. First, the participants were very
high level musicians, which was very nice. Second, the very wide and
diverse geography of countries was represented during the competition
(Syria, Russia, Iran, Georgia, China, Korea, France, Kyrgyzstan ....).
This added a musical diversity to the competition. And, of course, it
was very exciting to hear completely different interpretations of my
works.

- The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, being the co-organizer of this
project, performed your works during this festival. As far as we know,
the Orchestra includes your compositions in their seasonal concerts.
We have listened to their performance of the overture to your ballet
"Crystal Palace", which amazed the audience of the festival. Do you
like the interpretations of your compositions by the orchestra and do
they embody your musical ideas?

-Thank you for this question. I would like to talk about the Orchestra
and Sergey Smbatyan. I was happy to attend their concerts at the
festival, which were really successful. I also attended their
rehearsals with a great interest. Sergey worked with the Orchestra
very carefully and delicately and, the musicians reacted to his
remarks with the same attention and readiness which was very nice to
notice. A real "chemistry" of the collective and the conductor was
visible. I am very glad that we are cooperating with them. By the way,
the overture to the "Crystal Palace" you mentioned was a premiere. The
whole ballet will be performed in Malta, on July 21, for the first
time, with the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Theater. By the way, I
would like to note that Sergey Smbatyan is well known in Malta, most
recently he conducted the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra with a great
success.

- We know that your compositions are performed around the world by the
best soloists. The artists of the festival Maxim Vengerov, Narek
Hakhnazaryan, Nareh Agramanyan, Roman Kim and many others performed
your works in Yerevan. What are your feelings during their
performances?

-Perhaps the most significant experience for the composer is to hear
his compositions performed by the outstanding artists. After all, they
add their brightest individuality to the music and due to this
combination inexpressible sensations are created. I am very proud that
such musicians perform my compositions.

- You are in Armenia for the first time. Have you managed to visit the
sights of our country? Which ones have been imprinted in your memory
and do you think that Armenia will be a source of inspiration for
another piece?

-Thanks to the wonderful organization of the festival, I managed to
see a lot and I must say that I am full of strong emotions. I hope I
will be able to express them in the language of music in the course of
time.

Armenia is an amazing, very beautiful country that fills you with a
rich palette of impressions-from bright and pleasant to tragic, and
all those impressions deeply remain in one’s soul. And I must confess,
there was a personal purpose for my arrival in Armenia - my father
spent twelve years in this wonderful country with me and my mother.
That was a very important period for our family.