NEWS: Piano virtuoso from diaspora to perform at eastern Turkish liturgy

Piano virtuoso from diaspora to perform at eastern Turkish liturgy

Monday, August 23, 2010

VERCİHAN ZİFLİOĞLU

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

As a result of efforts of the United State Embassy and Van Governor’s Office, Armenian-American piano virtuoso Şahan Arzruni has been invited to Turkey for the religious ceremony that will take place on Akdamar Island on Sept. 19. The artist is very pleased with the gesture, saying communication between Turks and Armenians is of great importance

Piano virtuoso Şahan Arzruni

With anticipation growing for next month’s special liturgy on Akdamar Island, one of the Armenian diaspora’s most accomplished piano virtuosos, Şahan Arzruni, has announced that he will also perform at Surp Haç Church on Sept. 19.

“My long-time desire is about to come true. The Turkish Consulate General in New York, with the cooperation of the Van Governor’s Office, the Armenian Patriarchate of Turkey and the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, organized and put together a full-length concert in a most satisfying way,” Arzruni told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, detailing those responsible for bringing him to the eastern province of Van for the liturgy. “I am very pleased indeed.”

Arzruni’s attendance at the religious ceremony also has a symbolic significance. The artist, an Istanbul-born Armenian-American ethnomusicologist, has roots that go back to the pre-modern Vaspurakan Kingdom, established by Gagik Artsruni in the area.

The most striking work of the concert is likely to be “Akhtamar,” by Arzruni’s aunt, master composer Sirvart Karamanukyan, who died in Istanbul last year.

When asked if the current problems between the two peoples could be overcome and a dialogue could be established, Arzruni said: “Communication is perhaps the only means to understanding each other’s aspirations, desires, intentions, thoughts and sentiments. Sometimes a simple smile is enough to communicate a host of feelings. Whatever the case, I am sure the people who will come to visit Akdamar Island on that historic weekend will be met with open arms by the residents of Van.”

‘Istanbul is my second home’

Like many artists from the diaspora whose roots go back to Anatolia, Arzruni has given concerts in Istanbul many times but they were only limited to the participation of the Armenian public because they were not generally promoted.

“I visit Istanbul several times a year, so it is like a second home for me,” the pianist said, noting his affection for the city of his birth. “I am equally at home both in New York and Istanbul. I have my social milieu in both cities. I engage in various cultural and community activities in both places. To tell you the truth, whichever city I am in, that is home. It is like asking which composer you like the most: The composer whose work I am listening to or playing at the moment, of course. Otherwise why would I play or listen to it?”

Arzruni also said he was very excited about the religious ceremony in Van, adding that he had wanted to come to Van for the ceremony that was held after the restoration in 2007 but had not been able to do so.

“I had written to the relevant authorities in Ankara, requesting to participate in the opening ceremonies and to present a short concert on the site,” he said. “For some reason, this did not occur.”

Common works to be performed

Arzruni’s concert on Sept. 19 will bring together Turkish and Armenian artists, with young and successful viola artist Sevil Ulucan and Istanbul State Opera and Ballet soloist Kevork Tavityan accompanying Arzruni at the concert. The artists will perform works from Turkish classical music composers Adnan Saygun and Yüksel Koptagel and Armenian ethnomusicologist-composer Gomidas, as well as many other Turkish and Armenian composers.

Arzruni said he deeply believed that Tavityan and Ulucan would stage a magnificent performance. “It's going to be a special evening.”

Preferring to eschew questions of politics, Arzrunin did not reply to a question about the current situation of Turkish and Armenian relations, saying he was an artist and that politics did not concern him. “I am a person of few words. I act rather than speak.”