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A 'HAPPENING' OF ART, MUSIC AND DANCE AT THE NATIONAL PORTRAIT GALLERY
by Robert Battey
The Washington Post
May 21, 2012 Monday
-Narek Hakhnazaryan
Washington is fortunate to get regular visits from Armenian cello
phenom Narek Hakhnazaryan, whose gold medal at last year's Tchaikovsky
Competition added to a bulging trophy case. He has appeared here
at least five times in recent seasons, and his recital on Saturday
afternoon at the Library of Congress drew a vociferously appreciative
audience.
Hakhnazaryan's gifts on the instrument are manifest; his sound can
turn from orotund power to a gossamer whisper in an instant, and
he undertakes risky (but more expressive) fingerings with complete
security. His intonation is mostly excellent, although it can drift
when he plays fortissimo. His facility and clarity with the instrument
are astonishing, and he attends carefully to the connections between
notes, creating singing lines of satisfying logic.
In short, Hakhnazaryan is a complete cellist. Is he a complete
musician? Only 24, one would expect and hope for growth. This
should begin with his repertoire; of the six works on the program,
only one was by a composer who wasn't born between 1810 and 1840 -
and, if memory serves, past programs here were similar. This will
not do for much longer. He is at the level where he'll be compared
with Weilerstein, Capucon and Gerhardt; offering Armenian folk-song
arrangements as encores does not count as "range."
As an interpretive artist, Hakhnazaryan is a work in progress; a year
ago, he was a student at the New England Conservatory, and it might
take time to develop his personal voice. It's fine to be transported by
the music, as his performing demeanor often indicates, but top-level
artists do more than react to the music - they re-create it and say
something fresh and individual through it. There is nothing standing
in this young virtuoso's way; with further experience and mentoring
(life and musical), more chamber music and taking time to reflect
about what he has to say, the sky's the limit.
by Robert Battey
The Washington Post
May 21, 2012 Monday
-Narek Hakhnazaryan
Washington is fortunate to get regular visits from Armenian cello
phenom Narek Hakhnazaryan, whose gold medal at last year's Tchaikovsky
Competition added to a bulging trophy case. He has appeared here
at least five times in recent seasons, and his recital on Saturday
afternoon at the Library of Congress drew a vociferously appreciative
audience.
Hakhnazaryan's gifts on the instrument are manifest; his sound can
turn from orotund power to a gossamer whisper in an instant, and
he undertakes risky (but more expressive) fingerings with complete
security. His intonation is mostly excellent, although it can drift
when he plays fortissimo. His facility and clarity with the instrument
are astonishing, and he attends carefully to the connections between
notes, creating singing lines of satisfying logic.
In short, Hakhnazaryan is a complete cellist. Is he a complete
musician? Only 24, one would expect and hope for growth. This
should begin with his repertoire; of the six works on the program,
only one was by a composer who wasn't born between 1810 and 1840 -
and, if memory serves, past programs here were similar. This will
not do for much longer. He is at the level where he'll be compared
with Weilerstein, Capucon and Gerhardt; offering Armenian folk-song
arrangements as encores does not count as "range."
As an interpretive artist, Hakhnazaryan is a work in progress; a year
ago, he was a student at the New England Conservatory, and it might
take time to develop his personal voice. It's fine to be transported by
the music, as his performing demeanor often indicates, but top-level
artists do more than react to the music - they re-create it and say
something fresh and individual through it. There is nothing standing
in this young virtuoso's way; with further experience and mentoring
(life and musical), more chamber music and taking time to reflect
about what he has to say, the sky's the limit.