· Folk
Concert dedicated to Jivan Gasparyan's 95th anniversary to be held in Yerevan
The world-famous duduk player Jivan Gasparyan's 95th birthday will be commemorated with a jubilee gala concert on December 9 at the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. In the evening, Armenian folk music, warm melodies of Armenian duduk, ethno-jazz compositions, and epic soundtracks will be played. Jivan Gasparyan Jr. (duduk), Arto Tunchboyajian (singer, drummer), Artyom Manukyan (cellist), and Garegin Arakelyan (keyboard instruments, "Gata" band) will perform multi-genre musical works in tribute to the famous Jivan Gasparyan. The evening will also feature the Tatul Altunyan State Song and Dance Ensemble, where Jivan Gasparyan began his career as a duduk player, with his first performances in the Aram Khachaturian Concert Hall. Archival footage of Gasparyan's performances will also be shown.
Born in Solak, Armenia, to parents from Mush, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948, he became a soloist in the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra.
He won four medals at UNESCO worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia. In 2002, he received the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. He was a Honorary citizen of Yerevan.
A professor at the Yerevan Conservatory, he instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.
In 1998 he released an album with a unique duduk quartet he formed. Creating arrangements for four musicians with "new duduk tones, alto and bass, was a challenging task" and challenge, but the quartet did become a reality performing, and "there is no other like it in the world", he witnessed in the liner notes of Nazeli.
He toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music. His music has been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films. He collaborated with many artists, such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hossein Alizadeh, Erkan Oğur, Michael Brook, Brian May, Lionel Richie, Derek Sherinian, Roman Miroshnichenko, Ludovico Einaudi, Luigi Cinque, Boris Grebenshchikov, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Hans Zimmer and Andreas Vollenweider. He also recorded with the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Born in Solak, Armenia, to parents from Mush, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948, he became a soloist in the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra.
He won four medals at UNESCO worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia. In 2002, he received the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. He was a Honorary citizen of Yerevan.
A professor at the Yerevan Conservatory, he instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.
In 1998 he released an album with a unique duduk quartet he formed. Creating arrangements for four musicians with "new duduk tones, alto and bass, was a challenging task" and challenge, but the quartet did become a reality performing, and "there is no other like it in the world", he witnessed in the liner notes of Nazeli.
He toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music. His music has been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films. He collaborated with many artists, such as Sting, Peter Gabriel, Hossein Alizadeh, Erkan Oğur, Michael Brook, Brian May, Lionel Richie, Derek Sherinian, Roman Miroshnichenko, Ludovico Einaudi, Luigi Cinque, Boris Grebenshchikov, Brian Eno, David Sylvian, Hans Zimmer and Andreas Vollenweider. He also recorded with the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
