InternationalVienna greets Armenia in music festival
Armenian-Austrian festival takes place in Yerevan
Published: Saturday October 31, 2009
Tigran Mansuryan, left, John Sarkissian, and Anna Maria Pammer. Vahram Baghdasaryan / Photolure
Yerevan - The first-ever Austro-Armenian Music Festival will be taking place in Yerevan from October 27 to November 1 under the patronage of Dr. Michael Haupl, mayor of Vienna.
The director of the festival, John Sarkissian, an Armenian-American composer, says that many people might ask whether it is necessary to host a special festival dedicated to Austrian music in a city like Yerevan. "After all, already without such a festival it is the music of Haydn, Mozart, Schubert, the Vienna-dwelling Beethoven, and Brahms that are most often heard in Armenia's concert halls, not to mention the ever-popular and well-known operettas, waltzes, and marches of Johann Strauss Jr., Lehar, and Kalman," he states.
The idea of bringing Austrian music performed by Austrian musicians came to Sarkissian when he was at a solo vocal recital in Berlin. The singer and pianist were Austrian and they presented a program by Austrian classical as well as contemporary composers. "It was quite a different experience to hear two artists, thoroughly familiar and versed in the culture of their native land," Sarkissian explains. "No one ever disputes that the best interpreters of Russian music have always been Russian artists. And no one can capture the nuances of a Sayat Nova or a Komitas song better than an Armenian singer."
After the concert John Sarkissian approached the singer and asked her whether she would come to Armenia to perform and she graciously agreed. The singer was Anna Maria Pammer and the pianist was Gottlieb Wallisch. Today, these two musicians along with Sarkissian are on the Board of Directors of the Austro-Armenian Music Festival.
Five concerts will take place within the framework of the festival, featuring the works of Tigran Mansuryan, Mozart, Schubert, and Berg. Performing are sopranos Anna Maria Pammer, who is also the artistic director of the festival, and Gayane Geghamyan, accompanied by Gottlieb Wallisch and Anna Mandalyan on the piano; Suren Khorozyan on the clarinet. Also taking part in the festival is the internationally acclaimed Aron Quartet of Austria.
At a press conference in Yerevan, Anna Maria Pammer said she believes that this festival will promote the establishment of a music bridge between Armenia and Austria. Armenian spectators will have an opportunity to become acquainted with Austrian music of different periods and genres. "This is also a good occasion for us to study the works of Armenian composers," the singer said. She herself will be performing one of Tigran Mansuryan's pieces in Armenian.
According to Gottlieb Wallisch, the festival is unique and is of great importance to Armenia. "When we started organizing the festival there was great interest, especially by the Austrian side. Such cooperation is very efficient for both countries. We want to make this an annual event, therefore serious attention must be paid to it," the pianist noted.
Composer Tigran Mansuryan noted that there is a very active musical life in Yerevan. "It is a great honor to receive the famous musicians of Vienna. This town has a unique musical character; it is really the music of Eden," the composer said.
John Sarkissian, composer
Armenian-American composer John Sarkissian was born in Iran into a family of Armenian emigrants from Russia. John's first compositions appeared when he was only 13. He studied composition and piano at Conservatorio Giuseppe Nicolini in Piacenza, Italy, UCLA, and the New England Conservatory of Boston where he received his graduate degrees.
His composition teachers have been Shaheen Farhat, Paul Reale, Ian Krouse, Russell Steinberg, John Heiss and major American composer, Pullitzer recipient and Grammy Award winner John Corigliano. His piano teachers include Sheldon Steinberg, and the legendary pianist Johana Harris, widow of the great American composer Roy Harris.
John's music has been heard at concerts and international music festivals in the United States, Germany, Austria, Italy, Iceland, Armenia, and the Middle East performed by a variety of artists and ensembles.
John Sarkissian is the author of symphonic, chamber, stage, vocal and solo instrumental music. His music shows the influences of his varied background. In spite of general American eclecticism principles which guide and shape his sound world, John's predilection of polytonality and strong, albeit irregular rhythms give his music its particular Oriental Eastern European flavor.
Anna Maria Pammer, soprano
The Austrian soprano studied voice, violoncello, interpretation of song and oratorio, as well as opera technique in her native Vienna. Subsequently she received a Young Artist's position at the Opera House in Zürich.
One of her first major roles was in Udo Zimmermann's "The Schuhu and the Flying Princess" at the Salzburg Music Festival in 1995 and consequently at the Opera House in Leipzig. Since then she has been seen on the stages of Opera de Paris, the Vienna Volksoper, as well as in Cologne, Ulm and Klagenfurt.
Anna Maria has performed with leading orchestras, including the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra, the Chapelle Royale, the Orchestra of RAI Turino, the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic and the SWR Symphonic Orchestra under the baton of distinguished conductors.
She is presently Artist in Residence at the Bruckner House in Linz. Her concerts there encompass repertoire from Hildegard of Bingen to music of the 20th and 21st centuries.
Anna Maria Pammer's discography currently consists of 25 titles. Her most recent release is Robert Schumann's "Album fur die Jugend."
Gottlieb Wallisch, pianist
Born into a family of musicians, he received his first piano lessons at the age of four. At the age of six, he began his studies as the then youngest student at the Vienna University of Music. Pupil of eminent teachers such as Heinz Medjimorec, Pascal Devoyon and Jacques Rouvier, Gottlieb Wallisch has won top prizes in International Piano Competitions (The Stravinsky Awards, USA - 1st prize and "Grand Priz Ivo Pogorelich;" finalist of the Queen Elisabeth Competition 1999 and the Concours Clara Haskil 2005).
