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ISTANBUL-BORN ARMENIAN PIANIST ARZRUNI TO GIVE CONCERT IN VAN
Today's Zaman
July 30 2010
Turkey
Å~^ahan Arzruni, an Ä°stanbul-born and world-famous Armenian pianist,
will give a concert in Van province shortly preceding a Sept. 19
religious ceremony to be held in a 10th century Armenian church.
Arzruni graduated from the Ä°stanbul Municipal Conservatory,
where he studied piano, and moved to New York in 1964 to study at
the Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship from the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation. The artist contacted the Turkish Consulate
General in New York and expressed a desire to give a concert in Van,
stated the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The ministry then communicated his proposal to the Van Governor's
Office, Yuzuncu Yıl University in Van and the Armenian Patriarchate
in Ä°stanbul in order to secure their support in making arrangements
for the concert. According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry,
the concert will take place at Van's Yuzuncu Yıl University on
Sept. 18, a day before the religious service is to be held in the
church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van.
On July 17, the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, which has been
converted into a state museum, became a symbol of the tortuous
reconciliation process between Armenia and Turkey, as the government
prepares to open the site on Sept. 19 for a one-day religious service
that could become an annual event.
The church reopened in 2007 as a museum, following a $1.5 million
renovation project by the Turkish government. Despite church
officials' pleas, they were not allowed to place a cross on top the
church. However, Munir Karaloglu, the governor of Van province, said a
cross will be placed on the dome before the Mass and will remain there.
Church officials say the holy site in Akdamar, built between A.D. 915
and A.D. 921, has been appropriated by the Turkish state because
the government considers it a public building, and the expression of
religious belief are not tolerated in public spaces under Turkey's
strict secular Constitution. Often criticized in the West for its
treatment of Christian minorities, Ankara has encouraged having Mass
in the church in an attempt to prove their commitment to tolerance.
At the concert, Arzruni will interpret songs from renowned Turkish
composers such Yuksel Koptagel, Ferid Anlar and Adnan Saygun, as
well as Armenian composers such as Komitas Vardapet, Hovhaness and
Srvantsdyans. Arzruni will be joined by baritone Kevork Tavityan and
violinist Sevil Ulucan.
The concert will also feature a musical film titled "Akdamar," produced
by Arzruni and inspired by Armenian composer and pianist Sirvart
Karamanuk's works. Karamanuk, who is also from Ä°stanbul, died in 2008.
Arzruni explained that since his family's roots go back to Akdamar,
he has an emotional connection to the region. He has continuously
investigated the musical roots of his Armenian heritage and researches
traditional Armenian music. He also has recorded a three-disc
anthology of Armenian piano music and co-produced an eight-disc set
of instrumental and vocal Armenian music.
In 2003, Arzruni was appointed Armenia's Ministry of Culture
representative for music in the Armenian diaspora. He also regularly
delivers papers and organizes symposia for such institutions as Harvard
University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor.
Arzruni is the author of several books and a regular contributor
of articles to academic journals. He has also written for various
editions of "The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians" and the
"Dictionary of the Middle Ages."
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
July 30 2010
Turkey
Å~^ahan Arzruni, an Ä°stanbul-born and world-famous Armenian pianist,
will give a concert in Van province shortly preceding a Sept. 19
religious ceremony to be held in a 10th century Armenian church.
Arzruni graduated from the Ä°stanbul Municipal Conservatory,
where he studied piano, and moved to New York in 1964 to study at
the Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship from the Calouste
Gulbenkian Foundation. The artist contacted the Turkish Consulate
General in New York and expressed a desire to give a concert in Van,
stated the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
The ministry then communicated his proposal to the Van Governor's
Office, Yuzuncu Yıl University in Van and the Armenian Patriarchate
in Ä°stanbul in order to secure their support in making arrangements
for the concert. According to a statement from the Foreign Ministry,
the concert will take place at Van's Yuzuncu Yıl University on
Sept. 18, a day before the religious service is to be held in the
church on Akdamar Island in Lake Van.
On July 17, the Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, which has been
converted into a state museum, became a symbol of the tortuous
reconciliation process between Armenia and Turkey, as the government
prepares to open the site on Sept. 19 for a one-day religious service
that could become an annual event.
The church reopened in 2007 as a museum, following a $1.5 million
renovation project by the Turkish government. Despite church
officials' pleas, they were not allowed to place a cross on top the
church. However, Munir Karaloglu, the governor of Van province, said a
cross will be placed on the dome before the Mass and will remain there.
Church officials say the holy site in Akdamar, built between A.D. 915
and A.D. 921, has been appropriated by the Turkish state because
the government considers it a public building, and the expression of
religious belief are not tolerated in public spaces under Turkey's
strict secular Constitution. Often criticized in the West for its
treatment of Christian minorities, Ankara has encouraged having Mass
in the church in an attempt to prove their commitment to tolerance.
At the concert, Arzruni will interpret songs from renowned Turkish
composers such Yuksel Koptagel, Ferid Anlar and Adnan Saygun, as
well as Armenian composers such as Komitas Vardapet, Hovhaness and
Srvantsdyans. Arzruni will be joined by baritone Kevork Tavityan and
violinist Sevil Ulucan.
The concert will also feature a musical film titled "Akdamar," produced
by Arzruni and inspired by Armenian composer and pianist Sirvart
Karamanuk's works. Karamanuk, who is also from Ä°stanbul, died in 2008.
Arzruni explained that since his family's roots go back to Akdamar,
he has an emotional connection to the region. He has continuously
investigated the musical roots of his Armenian heritage and researches
traditional Armenian music. He also has recorded a three-disc
anthology of Armenian piano music and co-produced an eight-disc set
of instrumental and vocal Armenian music.
In 2003, Arzruni was appointed Armenia's Ministry of Culture
representative for music in the Armenian diaspora. He also regularly
delivers papers and organizes symposia for such institutions as Harvard
University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor.
Arzruni is the author of several books and a regular contributor
of articles to academic journals. He has also written for various
editions of "The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians" and the
"Dictionary of the Middle Ages."
From: A. Papazian