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Armenian pianist to perform at Surp Giragos in Diyarbakir
12:02, 18 August, 2012
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: Pianist Raffi Bedrosyan will perform
at the newly-renovated Sourp Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir on
Sept. 10, reports Armenpress citing The Armenian Weekly. ''This
concert is more significant for me than all my past North American
performances combined,'' said Bedrosyan in an interview with Armenian
Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian. ''It will be the first concert by an
Armenian pianist in Diyarbakir since 1915, with a programme of
Armenian and classical composers.''
The Turkish word for playing a musical instrument, çalmak (pronounced
chalmak), also means to rob or to steal. ''In 1915, the valuable
possessions of the deported and murdered Armenians, including several
pianos, were stored in Armenian churches. Diyarbakir Governor Reshid
arranged for one of those to be transported to his house,'' noted
Bedrosyan, who is also a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly.
''It is my wish to realize second meaning of 'çalmak' in Diyarbakir
on Sept. 10, when I play the piano at Surp Giragos.''
Bedrosyan's comments about the theft of pianos are corroborated by
eyewitness accounts. In Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk
Seizure of Armenian Property, the authors cite the eyewitness account
of an Arab, Faiz Al-Ghusayn, who was in Diyarbakir at the time:
''You might see a carpet, worth thirty pounds, sold for five, a man's
costume, worth four pounds, sold for two medjidies, and so on with the
rest of the articles, this being especially the case with musical
instruments, such as pianos, etc., which had no value at all.''
The concert is organized by the Sourp Giragos Armenian Church
Foundation. The proceeds will benefit the construction of the
unfinished bell tower.
12:02, 18 August, 2012
YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS: Pianist Raffi Bedrosyan will perform
at the newly-renovated Sourp Giragos Armenian Church in Diyarbakir on
Sept. 10, reports Armenpress citing The Armenian Weekly. ''This
concert is more significant for me than all my past North American
performances combined,'' said Bedrosyan in an interview with Armenian
Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian. ''It will be the first concert by an
Armenian pianist in Diyarbakir since 1915, with a programme of
Armenian and classical composers.''
The Turkish word for playing a musical instrument, çalmak (pronounced
chalmak), also means to rob or to steal. ''In 1915, the valuable
possessions of the deported and murdered Armenians, including several
pianos, were stored in Armenian churches. Diyarbakir Governor Reshid
arranged for one of those to be transported to his house,'' noted
Bedrosyan, who is also a regular contributor to the Armenian Weekly.
''It is my wish to realize second meaning of 'çalmak' in Diyarbakir
on Sept. 10, when I play the piano at Surp Giragos.''
Bedrosyan's comments about the theft of pianos are corroborated by
eyewitness accounts. In Confiscation and Destruction: The Young Turk
Seizure of Armenian Property, the authors cite the eyewitness account
of an Arab, Faiz Al-Ghusayn, who was in Diyarbakir at the time:
''You might see a carpet, worth thirty pounds, sold for five, a man's
costume, worth four pounds, sold for two medjidies, and so on with the
rest of the articles, this being especially the case with musical
instruments, such as pianos, etc., which had no value at all.''
The concert is organized by the Sourp Giragos Armenian Church
Foundation. The proceeds will benefit the construction of the
unfinished bell tower.