Concerts in Spain Comemmorate Armenian Genocide

MADRID (Armradio.am) — The State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, under the baton of maestro Sergey Smbatyan, performed on the same stage with world-renowned violinist Ara Malikian, who was nominated for “Latin Grammy.”

The concerts took place on September 25, in “Mozart” Concert Hall in Zaragoza, and on September 26 in Royal Theatre of Madrid.

Works by Khachaturian, Mendelssohn, Paganini, Tchaikovsky and others, works from “Led Zeppelin” repertoire were performed. M Ara Malikian’s “1915”, dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide, specially written for these concerts, was also presented.

Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia Sergey Smbatyan said it was interesting for the Orchestra and for himself to work with a unique musician like Ara Malikian.

Ara Malikian was born in Beirut, studied in London and lives in Madrid. He is a virtuoso violinist with bright expressiveness, an author of a dozen albums. The sound of his violin is the most original and innovative in the contemporary music world. Malikian participates in numerous prestigious international competitions, performing more than 450 concerts in 40 countries around the world every year.

Sergey Smbatyan noted also that in 2016 they will try to invite Ara Malikian to Armenia. “We are always looking for Armenians in other nations but we forget that we have real Armenian heroes that affect the formation of the image of Armenia abroad,” Smbatyan added.