The European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) endorsed by the Culture Ministry of Malta, the Culture Ministry of Armenia, Arts Council Malta and the Valletta-2018 Foundation will hold the Armenian Cultural Days in Malta from the 18th to the 30th of April 2018.
The cultural events will start with the concert dedicated to the world-famous composer Aram Khachaturian on the occasion of the 115th anniversary of his birth. The program includes the Violin Concerto in D minor performed by the Rector of the Kazakh National University of Arts Aiman Mussakhajayeva accompanied by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra. Excerpts from ballets will be performed by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of the Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia Sergey Smbatyan.
The program will also include an unprecedented concert by the prominent Armenian pianist Nareh Arghamanyan playing with the Maltese musicians. They will perform the works of the celebrated Grammy-nominated Armenian composer Tigran Mansurian, Aram Khachaturian and the famous Maltese composers Shor, Vella and Fiorini.
In order to better acquaint the public with Armenian cinema, special screenings of selected movies by talented Armenian filmmakers – the National Artist of the Republic of Armenia Artavazd Peleshyan, the National Artist of the Republic of Armenia Michael Poghosian and the young director Narek Safaryan – will be held.
Exhibitions dedicated to the great Armenian composers Komitas and Aram Khachaturian will be presented.
For anyone interested in knowing more about Armenia, this festival provides a great opportunity to do so: The “Khachkars” and “The Mystery of Stones” exhibitions are designed to draw the viewer closer to Armenia, its mountains, its secrets and its spirit.
An unforgettable highlight of the Armenian Cultural Days promises to be the collaboration between the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra for the premiere performance of “Images of the Great Siege”, the symphonic cycle for two orchestras by composer Alexey Shor, which is dedicated to the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. This siege was the culmination of rivalry between the Maltese knights and the Ottoman Empire. The concert will be held within the framework of the Maltese festival.
Talented children from Malta and holders of scholarships from the “Art and Culture” Foundation from Armenia will present an exceptional concert program.
A Spendiarian music school student, qanun player Meri Musinyan, 11, is already a laureate of numerous musical competitions and has performed in different parts of the world from Miami to Tokyo, from Krasnoyarsk to Seoul. She played a qanun in a duet with the People’s Artist of Armenia and winner of numerous awards Djivan Gasparyan, as well as with the Presidential Orchestra of Russia. She was a participant in the “Best of All” show on Russian TV.
The young pianist Elen Arutyunyan is a “HOPE” winner of the Arno Babajanian competition for young pianists as well as the winner of various other awards. She has already participated in several festivals.
Vahram Hovhannisyan, 12, who has won various musical competitions, has Armenian and Italian songs in his repertoire.
Gevorg Stepanyan, a 10-year-old duduk player, has already participated in a number of musical competitions and played together with the world-famous duduk artist Djivan Gasparyan. Gevorg represented Armenia in the State Kremlin Palace competition.
Among the participants is an Armenian dance ensemble “ARAXE” which combines traditional Armenian dances with the elements of modern choreography.
With the support of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the best Junior Eurovision contestants from Armenia and Malta will perform.
The world-famous Khachaturian Trio (Armine Grigoryan – piano, Karen Shahgaldyan – violin, Karen Kocharyan – cello) will also perform a concert program within the Maltese festival.
The Armenian Cultural Days in Malta will close with “THE MAGIC CELLO” concert which will be held in the Republic Hall of the Mediterranean Conference Center. The Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia, winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition Narek Hakhnazaryan will perform accompanied by the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Tigran Hakhnazaryan. The Overture-fantasy from P. Tchaikovsky’s “Romeo and Juliet”, the Cello Concerto, Op 85 by Edward Elgar, as well as “Lament”, “Melancholy” and “Lonely Sail” for cello and orchestra by Alexey Shor are included in the program.
The Armenian Cultural Days in Malta will of course receive broad international media attention. The event will be covered by many major news channels and news agencies, including the Public Television Company of Armenia, Malta Television, Russia-K television, Euronews and Medici.
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