Armenian General Benevolent Union 75th Anniversary Concert presents Şahan Arzruni in Review

Armenian General Benevolent Union 75th Anniversary Concert presents Şahan Arzruni in Review

Şahan Arzruni, piano
French Institute Alliance Française-Florence Gould Hall, New York, NY
April 5, 2019

 

Turkish-born Armenian pianist Şahan Arzruni gave an important and deeply felt recital April 5 in the intimate Florence Gould Hall of the French Institute/Alliance Française, and it was in works by Armenian composers that he was most colorful and convincing. Marquee names Hovhaness and Khachaturian were present, but so was the relatively unknown Edward Mirzoyan. Come to think of it, one doesn’t often hear music by the “marquee” names either, so this recital served an important musical as well as patriotic function. A nearly full house of enthusiastic supporters seemed to thrive on the life assertion of a culture that was nearly eliminated in 1915 by a deliberate genocide planned by the Turks.

The recital began with a generous helping of works by Chopin, however. Here, Mr. Arzruni exhibited great dexterity and a very personal rubato and flow, as well as heartfelt commitment, in two impromptus (Op.29 and Op. 66) and three nocturnes (Op 9, No.1 &2, Op.32, No.1).

He then turned to music by Alan Hovhaness, with verbal remarks that clarified what was about to be played, stating that Hovhaness could be regarded as the “first minimalist,” so much of his piano music consists of single-line (or very lightly supported) melody. Don’t let the phrase “single line” fool you; the music abounds in subtlety and rhythmic surprise, and Mr. Arzruni created vivid, eloquent atmospheres, even with these “limited’ means. In Vanadour: Armenian God of Hospitality, Op. 55, No. 1, the pianist is actually imitating the oud (similar to the Western lute). Farewell to the Mountains, Op. 55, No.2, displayed again the maximal result of such slender writing. Achtamar (sometimes spelled Akdamar), Op. 64, was inspired by an island in Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, with the Cathedral of the Holy Cross and a tenth century monastery that were spared from demolition (three others were destroyed). Hovhaness joked (or was he joking?) that it was “composed by the cat,” Hovhaness’ cat Raja Hoyden.

After intermission, the old chestnut Toccata (first movement of a largely forgotten three-movement suite) by Aram Khatchaturian was given a propulsive reading full of abandon when appropriate, making the most of the lyrical moments that are also in the work. Armenian folk melodies and rhythms form the raw materials of this dazzler. After this master rendition, one never wants to hear it played by a student pianist again!

Thereon followed a small suite by Edward Mirzoyan (1921-2012), a Georgian-born Armenian composer who was previously unknown to me, although in his day he was regarded, right along with Khatchaturian and four others, as a leading light. The suite, inspired by and dedicated to his granddaughter Mariam, could easily take its place next to Debussy’s Children’s Corner and Schumann’s Kinderszenen as an adult’s “view” of childhood. Mr. Arzruni was absolutely authoritative—he knew Mirzoyan—and particularly haunting in two movements titled Meditation and Sad Waltz.

The recital closed with a performance of the most famous sonata of all time, Beethoven’s so-called “Moonlight.” Once the audience hears the all too familiar first measure of triplets at the beginning, it really ceases critical listening, and far be it from me to be too hard on this performance. The sempre pianissimo delicacy and pedaling required by Beethoven were not present, and the triplets were consistently distorted to “fit in” the sixteenth note, something we tell all our students not to do, yet I found myself pulled in to the interpretation because Mr. Arzruni was so convincing in his concept. The Allegretto “flower between two abysses” was nicely delineated, and the tempestuous finale thundered appropriately, with some extremes of rubato that even scholars are beginning to admit “may” have been more commonplace in Beethoven’s time than we are willing to admit. I just felt that the time could have been better used to present even more rarely heard Armenian music (perhaps some Komitas).

Mr. Arzruni received a standing ovation, well deserved, and he played two unannounced encores, neither of which I knew, though the first sounded like Hovhaness to me, and the second a bit like Mirzoyan, or was it a touch of Arzruni?

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by Frank Daykin  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY
Şahan Arzruni, Pianist in Review

Şahan Arzruni, Pianist in Review

Şahan Arzruni, Pianist in Review
The Fund for Armenian Relief Presents: Together for Armenia
A Benefit Concert for the Vanadzor Old Age Home
Şahan Arzruni, Piano, with Adam Rosenblatt, Percussion, and Simon Hagopian-Rogers, Violin
Merkin Concert Hall at the Kaufman Music Center, New York, NY
April 5, 2016

 

Those who say all piano recitals are alike these days have certainly not heard Şahan Arzruni, at least not his most recent New York recital to benefit a senior’s home in Armenia. One would be hard pressed to find duplication of such an evening anywhere – from the unusual Armenian repertoire to the scholarly, often humorous, commentary which made the evening almost more lecture-recital than recital.

Mr. Arzruni is a passionate Armenian pianist who has dedicated much of his extensive concertizing to promoting cultural awareness of Armenian music and benefitting Armenian charities. He is a persuasive advocate, and one left the hall marveling that this body of repertoire has remained still so largely untapped.

The concert opened with a short piece by Arno Babadjanian (1921-1983), the composer’s doleful Elegy (after Sayat Nova), inspired in 1978 by grief over the death of Armenian composer, Aram Khachaturian. It is an accessible, heart-on-sleeve piece, with some of its brooding harmonies reminiscent of Tango composer Astor Piazzolla (and if that seems a stretch from Armenia to Argentina, it isn’t – Babadjanian did actually compose a beautiful Tango himself and the two musical traditions have had interesting cross-pollination).

The next work was a set entitled Yenovk (in honor of the artist Yenovk der Hagopian) by Alan Hovhaness (1911-2000). Hovhaness was known as an eclectic American composer who delighted in many cultures, but he particularly treasured his Armenian heritage on his father’s side. He was extremely prolific, so maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that we still have not exhausted possible premieres of his works sixteen years after his death, but it was still exciting to hear Mr. Arzruni, who also performed the World Premiere of Yenovk in California in this complete version, now giving the set its New York Premiere. The six movements opened with a Fantasy, rather mesmerizing as a chant projected through repeated notes, and followed with Canzona I, Jhala, Canzona II, Ballata, and Fugue. The set combined folk elements of drone basses, stark unaccompanied solo lines, tremolando effects, and dervish-like frenzies that transported one to an exotic terrain far from Manhattan. Occasionally the journey was interrupted by what seemed some unevenness in the hall piano (which does become a distracting problem with all the balalaika-type repeated notes), but Mr. Arzruni held it all together with impressive command and passionate commitment.

Also by Hovhaness were the Five Invocations to Vahakn (New York Premiere) with Mr. Arzruni joined by percussionist Adam Rosenblatt, who played drums, gongs, cymbals, a thunder sheet, and a conch shell (a fittingly noisy assemblage for Vahakn, god of fire and war). Mr. Arzruni elicited laughter as he gestured to the instruments asking, “what is that?” – an assortment to wake up the most jaded audience – but all comedy aside, these were colorful and dramatic pieces.

Even more remarkable chronologically than the Hovhaness premieres was the World Premiere of music by Kristapor Kara-Mourza (1853-1902), his Potpourri on Armenian Songs (1872). Valuable from a musicological perspective perhaps more than musical, this work of Kara-Mourza was some of the first Armenian music notated for piano. True to a disclaimer by Mr. Arzruni that it is “a piece of kitsch,” it was replete with “urban folk” tunes of an adulterated sort. The medley was nonetheless fascinating in the context of the rest of the program, an important piece of the historic picture.

After Intermission came music by a far more famous Armenian composer, Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978). His Chant-Poème was given a beautiful performance by eleven-year-old violinist Simon Hagopian-Rogers, accompanied by Mr. Arzruni at the piano. One expects prodigies today to dazzle with technical facility, but what was impressive here was the young performer’s grasp of the rhapsodic feeling of the piece. Already performing internationally, this violinist will certainly be a young artist to watch.

With a child performer, exotic instruments, and some comedic touches thrown in, Mr. Arzruni was ready for even the most attention-deficit audience – and yet they were all just the right counterbalance to his serious and detailed scholarship. Exemplifying that scholarship, and of greatest weight on the program, were Khachaturian’s Recitatives and Fugues (World Premiere as a complete set). In 1968 Khachaturian added recitatives to seven fugues he had composed in his younger days and had rediscovered decades later. Similar in format to Preludes and Fugues by any number of composers, the resulting set is a valuable addition to Khatchaturian’s body of piano works. At twenty-five minutes in duration and rather cerebral listening at times, they demand much from an audience, but one couldn’t help observing that Mr. Arzruni had drawn a particularly attentive audience. The pieces reflected some influence of Shostakovich (especially in the giocoso sections, as in number 3), some of Bach (naturally), and even of Rachmaninoff (more in the Recitative sections, especially in number 2), but these works stand on their own and warrant further playing. Mr. Arzruni is to be congratulated for pulling off this very demanding achievement.

To cap off the program Mr. Arzruni fittingly presented Armenian Dances by Komitas (1869-1935), often regarded as the father of Armenian music. These are what Mr. Arzruni called “re-creations” (not compositions exactly, but not arrangements), and they included Yeranki (from Yerevan), Hed ou Arach (from Garin), and Shoror (from Moush). They closed the program with an affirmation of Armenian music’s roots, eliciting an encore of the Nocturne in E-flat, Op. 9, No. 2 by Chopin, an honorary Armenian for the evening. A grateful audience will surely return for more.

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by Rorianne Schrade  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY

Sahan Arzruni, Pianist in Review

Sahan Arzruni, Pianist in Review
With Cihat Askin, violinist
Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall; New York, NY
October 7, 2010

Sahan Arzruni - Photo Credit: 2010 FrontRowPhotos.

In a most unusual presentation of music from the Middle East—specifically that of Turkey and Armenia—pianist Sahan Arzruni performed admirably for a full-house crowd at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. The concert was presented by the Turkish Consulate General in New York. Despite the hall’s somewhat dry acoustics, Arzruni’s playing was riveting from start to finish. He has complete command of the instrument and exudes a quality that lets his audience know that he is a deeply probing musician. Also insightful was his programming, which ties together rarely heard music by Turkish and Armenian composers. Much of the traditional music by Turks and Armenians are rooted in their respective regional dialects, and this concert music reflected the different ways the dialects are spoken—with their varying accents and stresses of phrase.

Some of the composers were familiar names, such as Aram Khachaturian, who was born in Tbilisi. His Poem and Toccata are lovely, as is Komitas’ nicely contrasting Piano Dances. H. Ferid Alnar’s Piano Pieces are evocative, with titles such as “On the Hillside” and “East Winds at the Seashore”, and naturally concludes with a tuneful Folk Dance. Arzruni captured both the traditional and forward-looking qualities in the music.

Sahan Arzruni, pianist and Cihat Askin, violinist - Photo Credit: 2010 FrontRowPhotos.

Guest violinist Cihat Askin made a good impression as well. He performed a work called “Crane” by Aslamazyan, music based on the music of Komitas, which made good programming sense, since we heard a work by Komitas earlier in the evening. Askin played with elegant phrasing and an enthralling spirit. In “Salacak Sarkisi” by Askin himself, he beguiled the audience with his superb technique. He returned with a more familiar composer in Khachaturian’s “Chant-Poeme” and Saygun’s more virtuosic “Demet Suite”. Both artists had great chemistry and consistently impressed the audience with committed, engaging performances. I only wish Askin’s sound resonated in the hall more. Arzruni was masterful and insightful with his performances of Hovhaness’ “Achtamar” and “Lake of Van” Sonata, in addition to his excellent playing in Koptagel’s “Tamzara” and Toccata.

Sahan Arzruni presented a program that can be perceived as an effort to bring the people of Turkey and Armenia closer together artistically. There are many common traits…and unique differences as well.

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by Anthony Aibel  for New York Concert Review; New York, NY