Djivan Gasparyan
Encyclopedia
Djivan Gasparyan is an Armenia
n musician and composer. He plays the duduk
, a double reed
woodwind instrument
related to the orchestral oboe
. Gasparyan is known as the Master of the duduk.
worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia and in 2002, he received the WOMEX
(World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. A professor at the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory
, he has instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.
He has toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music
. He has collaborated with many artists, such as Hossein Alizadeh
, Sting, Erkan Ogur
, Michael Brook
, Peter Gabriel
, Brian May
, Lionel Richie
, Derek Sherinian
, Ludovico Einaudi
, Boris Grebenshchikov
, David Sylvian
, Hans Zimmer
and Andreas Vollenweider
.
Djivan Gasparyan and Hossein Alizadeh
were jointly nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award
for their 2006 collaboration album Endless Vision (an album featuring a trilingual arrangement and recording of Sari Galin
).
Gasparyan played as part of the Armenian entry "Apricot Stone
" by Eva Rivas
at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo
and became the oldest ever person to feature in a Eurovision Song Contest performance., but hasn't been officially listed as a guest artist.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n musician and composer. He plays the duduk
Duduk
The duduk , traditionally known since antiquity as a Ծիրանափող is a traditional woodwind instrument indigenous to Armenia. Variations of it are popular in the Middle East and Central Asia...
, a double reed
Double reed
A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. The term double reed comes from the fact that there are two pieces of cane vibrating against each other. A single reed consists of one piece of cane which vibrates against a mouthpiece made of metal, hardened...
woodwind instrument
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
related to the orchestral oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
. Gasparyan is known as the Master of the duduk.
Biography
Born in Solag, Armenia, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948 he became a soloist of the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philarmonic Orchestra. He has won four medals at UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia and in 2002, he received the WOMEX
WOMEX
WOMEX is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showcases, conferences, film market, networking sessions, and awards...
(World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. A professor at the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory
Yerevan State Musical Conservatory
Yerevan State Musical Conservatory or Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory, is a conservatory located in Yerevan, Armenia. It was founded in 1921 as a music studio, and re-founded two years later as a higher musical education institution.-History:...
, he has instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.
He has toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. He has collaborated with many artists, such as Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh , is an Iranian composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar and setar instrumentalist and improviser, described by Allmusic as a leading Iranian classical composer and musician....
, Sting, Erkan Ogur
Erkan Ogur
Erkan Oğur , or Erkan Ogur in the West, is a Turkish musician. A pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.Martinelli, op. cit.Unfretted, op. cit. A composer, he has influenced many musicians with his compositions combining the sounds of Turkish folk...
, Michael Brook
Michael Brook
Michael Brook is a Canadian guitarist, inventor, producer, and film music composer. He plays in many genres, including rock, electronica, world music, minimalism and film scores....
, Peter Gabriel
Peter Gabriel
Peter Brian Gabriel is an English singer, musician, and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist and flautist of the progressive rock group Genesis. After leaving Genesis, Gabriel went on to a successful solo career...
, Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
, Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
, Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian
Derek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
, Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi
Ludovico Einaudi OMRI is an Italian contemporary music composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Turin, Italy, Einaudi's mother played to him on the piano as a child. He began his musical training at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, gaining a diploma in composition in 1982...
, Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Grebenshchikov
Boris Borisovich Grebenshchikov also known as Boris Purushottama Grebenshikov, is one of the most prominent members of the generation which is widely considered the "founding fathers" of Russian rock music...
, David Sylvian
David Sylvian
David Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
, Hans Zimmer
Hans Zimmer
Hans Florian Zimmer is a German film composer and music producer. He has composed music for over 100 films, including critically acclaimed film scores for The Lion King , Crimson Tide , The Thin Red Line , Gladiator , The Dark Knight and Inception .Zimmer spent the early part of his career in the...
and Andreas Vollenweider
Andreas Vollenweider
Andreas Vollenweider is a Swiss musician. His music has been categorized as World Music, Jazz, New Age and even Classical; two of his albums were number 1 on the Billboard charts simultaneously in the categories Classical, Jazz, Pop and Crossover for more than 11 weeks. His music could be...
.
Djivan Gasparyan and Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh
Hossein Alizadeh , is an Iranian composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar and setar instrumentalist and improviser, described by Allmusic as a leading Iranian classical composer and musician....
were jointly nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for their 2006 collaboration album Endless Vision (an album featuring a trilingual arrangement and recording of Sari Galin
Sari Galin
Sari Gelin is a folk song popular in Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Sari Gelin has many different lyrical interpretations in many languages, but the melody remains unchanged. Whether the name Sari Gelin refers to a blonde bride, a girl/bride of the mountains, or simply a bride in yellow...
).
Gasparyan played as part of the Armenian entry "Apricot Stone
Apricot Stone
"Apricot Stone" , a song by Armenian-Russian singer Eva Rivas, was the Armenian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 held in Oslo, Norway...
" by Eva Rivas
Eva Rivas
-Early life:Rivas was born and raised in Rostov-on-Don to an Armenian mother and a father of Russian and Greek descent. She took the stage name Eva Rivas from her Greek great-grandmother...
at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
and became the oldest ever person to feature in a Eurovision Song Contest performance., but hasn't been officially listed as a guest artist.
Discography
- I Will Not Be Sad in This World (All Saints RecordsAll Saints RecordsAll Saints Records is a British independent record label. It was established in 1991 by Dominic Norman-Taylor. They have published Ambient music from the likes of Brian Eno or Biosphere.-History:...
, 1989) - Moon Shines at Night (All Saints RecordsAll Saints RecordsAll Saints Records is a British independent record label. It was established in 1991 by Dominic Norman-Taylor. They have published Ambient music from the likes of Brian Eno or Biosphere.-History:...
) - Ask Me No Questions (Traditional Crossroads 4268, 1996)
- Apricots From Eden (Traditional Crossroads 4276, 1996)
- The CrowThe Crow (film)The Crow is a 1994 American action film based on the 1989 comic book of the same name by James O'Barr. The film was written by David J. Schow and John Shirley, and directed by Alex Proyas...
, soundtrack - Black Rock, with Michael Brook (Realworld 46230, 1998)
- Djivan Gasparyan Quartet (Libra Music 1998)
- The Siege, soundtrack (1998)
- Eden RocEden Roc (album)Eden Roc is a music album by the Italian pianist Ludovico Einaudi. "Eden Roc" is the name of a number of localities and hotels around the world.-Track listing:All songs by Ludovico Einaudi.#"Yerevan"#"Eden Roc"#"Fuori Dalla Notte"...
(Ludovico EinaudiLudovico EinaudiLudovico Einaudi OMRI is an Italian contemporary music composer and pianist.-Biography:Born in Turin, Italy, Einaudi's mother played to him on the piano as a child. He began his musical training at the Conservatorio Verdi in Milan, gaining a diploma in composition in 1982...
, 1999) - Heavenly Duduk (Network 1999)
- Dead Bees On A Cake, David SylvianDavid SylvianDavid Sylvian is an English singer-songwriter and musician who came to prominence in the late 1970s as the lead vocalist and main songwriter in the group Japan...
; (Gaspayran appears on the track 'Darkest Dreaming') - Cosmopoly, as guest of Andreas Vollenweider (EDEL Records, SLG Records (USA/Canada)
- Armenian Fantasies (Network 34801, 2000)
- Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture, soundtrack
- Fuad, with Erkan OgurErkan OgurErkan Oğur , or Erkan Ogur in the West, is a Turkish musician. A pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.Martinelli, op. cit.Unfretted, op. cit. A composer, he has influenced many musicians with his compositions combining the sounds of Turkish folk...
(Traditional TurkishMusic of TurkeyThe music of Turkey includes diverse elements ranging from Central Asian folk music and has many copies and references of Byzantine music, Greek music, Ottoman music, Persian music, Balkan music, as well as more modern European and American popular music influences...
& Armenian songs) (2001) - Blood of the SnakeBlood of the SnakeBlood of the Snake is the fifth solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. It has contributions from Billy Idol, Zakk Wylde, Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, in addition to previous collaborators Simon Phillips, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Franklin, Steve Lukather and...
, Derek SherinianDerek SherinianDerek Sherinian is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X...
(2006) (Gaspayran appears on the track "Prelude To Battle") - RockPaperScissors, Michael Brook (EQR 0006, 2006)(Gaspayran appears on track "Pasadena part two")
- Pangea with Lian EnsembleLian EnsembleLian Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble based in Los Angeles, California, USA.- History :The Lian Ensemble was established in 1997 by Pirayeh Pourafar, Houman Pourmehdi and Mahshid Mirzadeh. The group has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally...
(Houman Pourmehdi & Piraye Pourafar), Swapan ChaudhuriSwapan ChaudhuriSwapan Chaudhuri is an Indian tabla player, who has accompanied several musicians of Indian classical music, including, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Pandit Jasraj....
and Miroslav TadićMiroslav Tadić (musician)Miroslav Tadic is a classically trained guitarist from Serbia.Miroslav Tadić is a classically trained guitarist from the former Yugoslavia who is widely admired both for the individuality of his performance style as well as for his fluency in a variety of different musical idioms. In addition to a...
(Lian Records 118, 2006) - The Soul of Armenia (Network Medien’s double-CD package 2008)
- Penumbra, with Michael Brook (Canadian Rational/bigHelium, 2008)