Tweet
Vardan Ovsepian: I have much appreciation for the actual architecture of music
http://style.news.am/eng/news/7085/vardan-ovsepian-i-have-much-appreciation-for-the-actual-architecture-of-music.html
AUGUST 18, 13:26
By Lilit Petrosyan
Vardan Ovsepian is an Armenia-born pianist/composer whose studies
include Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki
Jazz Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music. He performs solo as
well as with artists such as Mick Goodrick, Peter Erskine and Jerry
Bergonzi. In addition to teaching at The Musical Suite in Newburyport,
MA, performed and taught master in a number of countries. His pieces
of music are bright examples of new jazz built up on classical
foundation. Vardan told about his attitude towards music and his plans
in an interview with NEWS.am STYLE.
You've been educated in different musical educational institutions:
Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki Jazz
Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music. Now you live and create in
the USA. What changes have taken place in your creative life under the
influence of these different schools of Music? Was it easy for you to
express yourself and find your way in the motherland of jazz?
All the schools had a different impact on me. I majored in composition
at Yerevan State Conservatory; that couple of semesters were terrific
for getting a good introduction on 20th century composers and their
techniques. It was a smooth transition from there into the Estonian
Academy of music where I continued to explore the contemporary
composers. Helsinki Jazz conservatory was different; my first actual
studies in jazz theory and improvisation. Then finally Berklee College
of Music, which was a long-awaited dream come true. The three and half
years at Berklee were extremely helpful for polishing the traditional
language of jazz.
Do you attach importance to the question of heredity in music? Are
there any musicians in your family? Why did you choose music and jazz
concretely?
It is of course very helpful when you have a musician in the family.
My uncle was a musician; I studied the basics of music under his
instructions from age 5 to 7. Until the age 13 music was just
something I did without actually thinking too deeply about, along with
playing chess and football. After that the real love of music came,
then the path was clear...
Some of the art people compare their process of creation with some
spontaneous natural phenomena or other art forms. What would you
compare your creative process with? What is going on inside you while
creating new pieces of music?
The creative process is not easy to describe, since it happens
differently most times. I have much appreciation for the actual
architecture of music: how it's build, where it comes from, and the
unlimited possibilities of the instrument you play... so the more secure
you feel in the structures, the more territory there is for the
spontaneous influences. Influences from nature, human interaction,
wine and food, travel. Usually, while creating a piece of art, the
author imagines it first of all and only then embodies it.
Some confess that it wasn't what he wished to create; some say it
turned to be even better than they imagined. Have you ever had
experiences like that?
The final outcome of the creative work can vary I agree; at times you
aim for a specific sound and it's a great accomplishment to actually
achieve it. Other times it is nice to let the spontaneity lead and
take you other unplanned places. I like both processes.
You have pieces of music named in Armenian: `Aragast', `Akunc'. Have
you any special memories connected with them? Why in Armenian?
The Armenian titles for those CDs were chosen primarily because the
same meaning in English did not sound as appealing. Also, those
particular words (Aragast, Akunc) sound similar to some Latin titles
typical for the ECM record label, which I love.
What are your immediate creative plans connected with forthcoming
concerts, CD-s or new music?
My recent works: VOCE (Vardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble) new CD called
`Dreaming Paris and Variations' came out a couple of months ago. And
at the moment working on a new duo project with a Brazilian singer
Tatiana Parra, to be recorded soon.
http://style.news.am/eng/news/7085/vardan-ovsepian-i-have-much-appreciation-for-the-actual-architecture-of-music.html
AUGUST 18, 13:26
By Lilit Petrosyan
Vardan Ovsepian is an Armenia-born pianist/composer whose studies
include Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki
Jazz Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music. He performs solo as
well as with artists such as Mick Goodrick, Peter Erskine and Jerry
Bergonzi. In addition to teaching at The Musical Suite in Newburyport,
MA, performed and taught master in a number of countries. His pieces
of music are bright examples of new jazz built up on classical
foundation. Vardan told about his attitude towards music and his plans
in an interview with NEWS.am STYLE.
You've been educated in different musical educational institutions:
Yerevan State Conservatory, Estonian Music Academy, Helsinki Jazz
Conservatory, and Berklee College of Music. Now you live and create in
the USA. What changes have taken place in your creative life under the
influence of these different schools of Music? Was it easy for you to
express yourself and find your way in the motherland of jazz?
All the schools had a different impact on me. I majored in composition
at Yerevan State Conservatory; that couple of semesters were terrific
for getting a good introduction on 20th century composers and their
techniques. It was a smooth transition from there into the Estonian
Academy of music where I continued to explore the contemporary
composers. Helsinki Jazz conservatory was different; my first actual
studies in jazz theory and improvisation. Then finally Berklee College
of Music, which was a long-awaited dream come true. The three and half
years at Berklee were extremely helpful for polishing the traditional
language of jazz.
Do you attach importance to the question of heredity in music? Are
there any musicians in your family? Why did you choose music and jazz
concretely?
It is of course very helpful when you have a musician in the family.
My uncle was a musician; I studied the basics of music under his
instructions from age 5 to 7. Until the age 13 music was just
something I did without actually thinking too deeply about, along with
playing chess and football. After that the real love of music came,
then the path was clear...
Some of the art people compare their process of creation with some
spontaneous natural phenomena or other art forms. What would you
compare your creative process with? What is going on inside you while
creating new pieces of music?
The creative process is not easy to describe, since it happens
differently most times. I have much appreciation for the actual
architecture of music: how it's build, where it comes from, and the
unlimited possibilities of the instrument you play... so the more secure
you feel in the structures, the more territory there is for the
spontaneous influences. Influences from nature, human interaction,
wine and food, travel. Usually, while creating a piece of art, the
author imagines it first of all and only then embodies it.
Some confess that it wasn't what he wished to create; some say it
turned to be even better than they imagined. Have you ever had
experiences like that?
The final outcome of the creative work can vary I agree; at times you
aim for a specific sound and it's a great accomplishment to actually
achieve it. Other times it is nice to let the spontaneity lead and
take you other unplanned places. I like both processes.
You have pieces of music named in Armenian: `Aragast', `Akunc'. Have
you any special memories connected with them? Why in Armenian?
The Armenian titles for those CDs were chosen primarily because the
same meaning in English did not sound as appealing. Also, those
particular words (Aragast, Akunc) sound similar to some Latin titles
typical for the ECM record label, which I love.
What are your immediate creative plans connected with forthcoming
concerts, CD-s or new music?
My recent works: VOCE (Vardan Ovsepian Chamber Ensemble) new CD called
`Dreaming Paris and Variations' came out a couple of months ago. And
at the moment working on a new duo project with a Brazilian singer
Tatiana Parra, to be recorded soon.