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CELLIST HAKHNAZARYAN PERFORMS RECITAL TO BENEFIT KESSAB VICTIMS
ARTS | APRIL 10, 2014 3:03 PM
NEWTON, Mass. -- The plight of displaced Armenians from the terrorized
region of historical Kessab in Syria has generated a public outcry
in the Armenian communities worldwide. Thousands took to the streets
from Yerevan to Paris to Boston in protest of the re-victimization
of the descendants of the Armenian genocide, who saw armed bandits
ransack their homes and desecrate their churches.
The humanitarian crisis in Syria has prompted musicians of Armenian
descent to take action as well. Last year, several benefit concerns
were organized, raising money for the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund.
On Saturday, April 5, while transiting through Boston, the versatile
and charismatic cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan performed a benefit
recital at the Carriage House of Violins in Newton. With help from
the Armenia Fund, the proprietors Mr. and Mrs. Adam Johnson and staff
member Armenouhi Hovagimyan who provided the venue free of charge,
the event drew a diverse, capacity audience of 60 to the cozy concert
room tucked away in roomful of violins and colorful cello cases.
Hakhnazaryan's brief but eloquent opening remarks made a complex
geopolitical chess game's consequences all too clear: there were
700 displaced families in immediate need for shelter and other basic
necessities.
In an informal setting where each work was announced before the
performance, Hakhnazaryan drew the most emphatic, soulful and
expressive sounds possible from his instrument. There were the
lamentations of Gabriel Faure's Elegy juxtaposed with the emotional
outbursts and protests of Shostakovich's powerful Sonata for Cello and
Piano, the introspective Vocalise by Rachmaninoff and the delicate but
deceivingly difficult Nocturne and Pezzo Capriccioso. In short, all
giants of the musical world were summoned to decry man's inhumanity to
man, and to convey a message of solidarity with the people of Kessab.
The Armenian portion of the program, which ended the hour-long
concert, featured a touching rendition of a set of five folk songs by
Komitas transcribed for cello and piano by Hakhnazaryan; Lullaby by
Khachatourian; the sonata for solo cello by Adam Khudoyan (composed in
memory of the victims of the 1915 Genocide), and the lively Barcarole
by Ayvazyan, which was the evening's novelty for this listener.
Through the entire concert, French pianist Yannick Rafalimanana
made a strong impression with efficient, communicative collaboration
with Hakhnazaryan.
The Boston community is in preparation stages for another benefit
concert for Kessab in coming weeks.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/04/10/cellist-hakhnazaryan-performs-recital-to-benefit-kessab-victims/#sthash.BtsSDBBJ.dpuf
ARTS | APRIL 10, 2014 3:03 PM
NEWTON, Mass. -- The plight of displaced Armenians from the terrorized
region of historical Kessab in Syria has generated a public outcry
in the Armenian communities worldwide. Thousands took to the streets
from Yerevan to Paris to Boston in protest of the re-victimization
of the descendants of the Armenian genocide, who saw armed bandits
ransack their homes and desecrate their churches.
The humanitarian crisis in Syria has prompted musicians of Armenian
descent to take action as well. Last year, several benefit concerns
were organized, raising money for the Syrian Armenian Relief Fund.
On Saturday, April 5, while transiting through Boston, the versatile
and charismatic cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan performed a benefit
recital at the Carriage House of Violins in Newton. With help from
the Armenia Fund, the proprietors Mr. and Mrs. Adam Johnson and staff
member Armenouhi Hovagimyan who provided the venue free of charge,
the event drew a diverse, capacity audience of 60 to the cozy concert
room tucked away in roomful of violins and colorful cello cases.
Hakhnazaryan's brief but eloquent opening remarks made a complex
geopolitical chess game's consequences all too clear: there were
700 displaced families in immediate need for shelter and other basic
necessities.
In an informal setting where each work was announced before the
performance, Hakhnazaryan drew the most emphatic, soulful and
expressive sounds possible from his instrument. There were the
lamentations of Gabriel Faure's Elegy juxtaposed with the emotional
outbursts and protests of Shostakovich's powerful Sonata for Cello and
Piano, the introspective Vocalise by Rachmaninoff and the delicate but
deceivingly difficult Nocturne and Pezzo Capriccioso. In short, all
giants of the musical world were summoned to decry man's inhumanity to
man, and to convey a message of solidarity with the people of Kessab.
The Armenian portion of the program, which ended the hour-long
concert, featured a touching rendition of a set of five folk songs by
Komitas transcribed for cello and piano by Hakhnazaryan; Lullaby by
Khachatourian; the sonata for solo cello by Adam Khudoyan (composed in
memory of the victims of the 1915 Genocide), and the lively Barcarole
by Ayvazyan, which was the evening's novelty for this listener.
Through the entire concert, French pianist Yannick Rafalimanana
made a strong impression with efficient, communicative collaboration
with Hakhnazaryan.
The Boston community is in preparation stages for another benefit
concert for Kessab in coming weeks.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/04/10/cellist-hakhnazaryan-performs-recital-to-benefit-kessab-victims/#sthash.BtsSDBBJ.dpuf