· Classical
Petrenko and Trpčeski: 20 years of cooperation and the first joint concert in Yerevan
The concert of the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra on February 25 is a big event in the musical life of the capital. The world-famous conductor Vasily Petrenko and prominent Macedonian pianist Simon Trpčeski will perform in Armenia together for the first time.
The concert will feature the Overture of Weber’s The Free Shooter (“Der Freischütz”) opera, Ravel's Piano Concerto G-dur, and Symphony No. 1 by Brahms.
At the meeting with the journalists, ANPO artistic director and principal conductor Eduard Topchjan were laconic, only mentioning that they strive for the best to come to Yerevan, one of them is Petrenko.
Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra. From the 2021/22 season, he takes up the positions of Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director Designate of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (“Evgeny Svetlanov”). He served as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (2006 – August 2021), Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013-2020). This is the second visit to Armenia for the Russian conductor. The last time he was in Yerevan was 35 years ago, when his family visited their friends. "At that time we lived in the same country. Now the times have changed, but I am glad that the cordiality of the Armenians has remained the same. ” According to him, the rehearsals with ANPO musicians are successful, they work quite easily. "The intensity with which we work is a bit unusual, but there is understanding." The conductor attaches great importance to the country where he performs because the admirers are different in each country, it is very important to pay attention on it.
The soloist for the concert, pianist Simon Trpčeski (Northern Macedonia), in one of his interviews mentioned that he loves Armenia so much that he is even ready to be written Trpchjan. Simon Trpčeski has been praised not only for his powerful virtuosity and deeply expressive approach but also for his charismatic stage presence. Launched onto the international scene twenty years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, in an incredibly fast-paced career that encompass no cultural or musical boundaries, Simon Trpčeski has collaborated with over a hundred orchestras on four continents.
He has a particularly long-standing relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, further strengthened during the tenure of Vassily Petrenko. Together, they have recorded the monuments of the Russian piano repertoire, all four Rachmaninov piano concertos as well as the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, for Avie, the two Tchaikovsky piano concertos and most recently Prokofiev piano concertos no. 1 and 3 for Onyx Classics. "I'm always glad to come to Armenia. Very good relations have been established here. We have been cooperating with Petrenko for a very long time, I'm happy about a joint concert in Yerevan. I have never performed with a French program in Armenia, I've played Russian and German programs here. "Ravel's concerto is one of the masterpieces of 20th-century music," the pianist said.
Simon Trpčeski last performed in Armenia before the pandemic. According to him, a lot has happened during these two years. Due to the restrictions, he had to perform with a slightly different repertoire, the audience was different everywhere.
By Sona Khachatryan
The concert will feature the Overture of Weber’s The Free Shooter (“Der Freischütz”) opera, Ravel's Piano Concerto G-dur, and Symphony No. 1 by Brahms.
At the meeting with the journalists, ANPO artistic director and principal conductor Eduard Topchjan were laconic, only mentioning that they strive for the best to come to Yerevan, one of them is Petrenko.
Vasily Petrenko is Music Director of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the European Union Youth Orchestra. From the 2021/22 season, he takes up the positions of Conductor Laureate of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and Artistic Director Designate of the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia (“Evgeny Svetlanov”). He served as Chief Conductor of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (2006 – August 2021), Chief Conductor of the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra (2013-2020). This is the second visit to Armenia for the Russian conductor. The last time he was in Yerevan was 35 years ago, when his family visited their friends. "At that time we lived in the same country. Now the times have changed, but I am glad that the cordiality of the Armenians has remained the same. ” According to him, the rehearsals with ANPO musicians are successful, they work quite easily. "The intensity with which we work is a bit unusual, but there is understanding." The conductor attaches great importance to the country where he performs because the admirers are different in each country, it is very important to pay attention on it.
The soloist for the concert, pianist Simon Trpčeski (Northern Macedonia), in one of his interviews mentioned that he loves Armenia so much that he is even ready to be written Trpchjan. Simon Trpčeski has been praised not only for his powerful virtuosity and deeply expressive approach but also for his charismatic stage presence. Launched onto the international scene twenty years ago as a BBC New-Generation Artist, in an incredibly fast-paced career that encompass no cultural or musical boundaries, Simon Trpčeski has collaborated with over a hundred orchestras on four continents.
He has a particularly long-standing relationship with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, further strengthened during the tenure of Vassily Petrenko. Together, they have recorded the monuments of the Russian piano repertoire, all four Rachmaninov piano concertos as well as the Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, for Avie, the two Tchaikovsky piano concertos and most recently Prokofiev piano concertos no. 1 and 3 for Onyx Classics. "I'm always glad to come to Armenia. Very good relations have been established here. We have been cooperating with Petrenko for a very long time, I'm happy about a joint concert in Yerevan. I have never performed with a French program in Armenia, I've played Russian and German programs here. "Ravel's concerto is one of the masterpieces of 20th-century music," the pianist said.
Simon Trpčeski last performed in Armenia before the pandemic. According to him, a lot has happened during these two years. Due to the restrictions, he had to perform with a slightly different repertoire, the audience was different everywhere.
By Sona Khachatryan
