Eduard Topchjan
Encyclopedia
Eduard Topchjan is the principal conductor and artistic director of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
.
Topchjan studied violin at the Yerevan Komitas Conservatory
and went on to study conducting with Armenia
n conductor Ohan Durian followed by consultations from Sir George Solti, Claudio Abbado
and Nello Santi
.
Topchjan started conducting in 1991 when with a group of his friends from the Yerevan Komitas Conservatory
he created the Serenade Chamber Orchestra, later known as the Amrmenian Chamber Players. The group has performed at over 1000 concerts in Europe, winning prizes at various international competitions and releasing CDs on the Thorofon label.
Eduard Topchjan made his debut with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
in 2000, when an orchestra composed of the Serenade Chamber Orchestra musicians and a group of leading APO
musicians had an appearance at Bad Fussing Festival, Germany
. The same year he was appointed as the Artistic Director
and Principal Conductor of the APO
and started appearances with the APO
in Yerevan
and abroad, interpreting the main symphonic repertoire as well as new compositions.
In 2001, he appeared with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
, and in 2003, at the Bolshoi Theater.
In autumn 2006 the APO
led by Eduard Topchjan participated in the 41st International Music Festival Moravia
n Autumn held in Brno
, Czech Republic
and continued the tour visiting also Prague
, Bratislava
and Nuremberg
(Germany
).
In February 2007 the APO with Maestro Topchjan toured France and appeared in Nice
, St. Etienne, Lyon
, Valance, Marseille
, Issy les Moulineaux, which was the culmination of the Year of Armenia in France.
Topchjan is especially known for introducing music to both the orchestral and operatic repertoire. He has performed with this orchestra the operas Aïda
, The Barber of Seville
; Il Tabarro
, Madama Butterfly
, Turandot
, Simone Boccanegra
, Rigoletto
, I Pagliacci and others.
Eduard Topchjan has appeared with such artists as Steven Isserlis
, David Geringas
, Renato Bruson
, Kim Kashkashian
, Alexei Lubimov
, Emmanuel Pahud
, Bernd Glemser
, Tibor Varga, François-Joël Thiollier, Bernard Ringeissen
, Zoran Todorovich, Mischa Maisky
, Boris Berezovsky
, Sergey Khachatryan
, Isabel Bayrakdarian
, Sergei Babayan
, Sahan Arzruni
, Julia Fischer
, Wolfgang Meyer, Sergey Larin, Hasmik Papian
, Vladimir Chernov
, Sergei Nakariakov
, Catherine Manoukian
and many others.
As a guest conductor he appeared with many orchestras in Europe, among them the Frankfurt Opera, the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia
, Romania
n TV and Radio Orchestra, the Pasadena
Symphony Orchestra and Kärntner Sinfonieorchester.
He was Artistic Director
of several festivals. Since 2007 he has been the principal conductor at the Yerevan International Music Festival, which is an annual event and hosts numerous world-known musicians.
His large repertoire includes all epochs from baroque
to contemporary music, symphonic works as well as the chamber orchestra repertoire and operas. Several pieces by composers from Armenia
and abroad have been written for him and world premiered by him and his orchestras. In 2007 the Ministry
of Culture
of Armenia
awarded him with Meritorious Worker of Art
title.
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
.
Topchjan studied violin at the Yerevan Komitas 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:...
and went on to study conducting with Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n conductor Ohan Durian followed by consultations from Sir George Solti, Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado
Claudio Abbado, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , is an Italian conductor. He has served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, music director of the Vienna State Opera,...
and Nello Santi
Nello Santi
Nello Santi is an Italian conductor. He is often called "Papa Santi" by his fellow musicians to show their high respect for his work.-Biography:...
.
Topchjan started conducting in 1991 when with a group of his friends from the Yerevan Komitas 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 created the Serenade Chamber Orchestra, later known as the Amrmenian Chamber Players. The group has performed at over 1000 concerts in Europe, winning prizes at various international competitions and releasing CDs on the Thorofon label.
Eduard Topchjan made his debut with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra
The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
in 2000, when an orchestra composed of the Serenade Chamber Orchestra musicians and a group of leading APO
Apo
Apo or APO may refer to:* African Press Organization* Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force* Acute Pulmomary Oedema, fluid accumulation on the lungs...
musicians had an appearance at Bad Fussing Festival, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. The same year he was appointed as the Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
and Principal Conductor of the APO
Apo
Apo or APO may refer to:* African Press Organization* Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force* Acute Pulmomary Oedema, fluid accumulation on the lungs...
and started appearances with the APO
Apo
Apo or APO may refer to:* African Press Organization* Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force* Acute Pulmomary Oedema, fluid accumulation on the lungs...
in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
and abroad, interpreting the main symphonic repertoire as well as new compositions.
In 2001, he appeared with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory is a higher musical education institution in Moscow, and the second oldest conservatory in Russia after St. Petersburg Conservatory. Along with the St...
, and in 2003, at the Bolshoi Theater.
In autumn 2006 the APO
Apo
Apo or APO may refer to:* African Press Organization* Acting Pilot Officer, the lowest commissioned grade in the Royal Air Force* Acute Pulmomary Oedema, fluid accumulation on the lungs...
led by Eduard Topchjan participated in the 41st International Music Festival Moravia
Moravia
Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...
n Autumn held in Brno
Brno
Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...
, Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and continued the tour visiting also Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
and Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
(Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
).
In February 2007 the APO with Maestro Topchjan toured France and appeared in Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, St. Etienne, Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, Valance, Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
, Issy les Moulineaux, which was the culmination of the Year of Armenia in France.
Topchjan is especially known for introducing music to both the orchestral and operatic repertoire. He has performed with this orchestra the operas Aïda
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
; Il Tabarro
Il tabarro
Il tabarro is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on Didier Gold's play La houppelande. It is the first of the trio of operas known as Il trittico...
, Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly
Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. Puccini based his opera in part on the short story "Madame Butterfly" by John Luther Long, which was dramatized by David Belasco...
, Turandot
Turandot
Turandot is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni.Though Puccini's first interest in the subject was based on his reading of Friedrich Schiller's adaptation of the play, his work is most nearly based on the earlier text Turandot...
, Simone Boccanegra
Simone Boccanegra
Simone Boccanegra was the first doge of Genoa. His story was popularized by Antonio García Gutiérrez's 1843 play Simón Bocanegra and Giuseppe Verdi's 1857 opera Simon Boccanegra. Note the spellings....
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, I Pagliacci and others.
Eduard Topchjan has appeared with such artists as Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis
Steven Isserlis CBE is a British cellist. He is distinguished for his diverse repertoire, distinctive sound and total command of phrasing. He studied at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and was much influenced by the great iconoclast of Russian cello playing, Daniil Shafran...
, David Geringas
David Geringas
David Geringas is a world-renowned cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the Gold Medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition...
, Renato Bruson
Renato Bruson
Renato Bruson is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. He was born in Granze near Padua, Italy.-Biography and career:...
, Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian
Kim Kashkashian is an Armenian-American violist.-Professional career:Kim Kashkashian studied the viola with Karen Tuttle. She also studied at the Interlochen Center for the Arts. She won the 2nd prize at the 1980 Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition and the 1980 ARD International Music...
, Alexei Lubimov
Alexei Lubimov
Alexei Lubimov is a Russian pianist, fortepianist and harpsichordist.Alexei Lubimov studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lew Naumov...
, Emmanuel Pahud
Emmanuel Pahud
Emmanuel Pahud is a Swiss flute player.He was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His father is of French and Swiss background and his mother is French. The Berlin-based flutist is most known for his baroque and classical flute repertory....
, Bernd Glemser
Bernd Glemser
Bernd Glemser is a German pianist. A student of Vitaly Margulis, in 1989 he became Germany's youngest piano professor at Saarbrücken's Musikochschule....
, Tibor Varga, François-Joël Thiollier, Bernard Ringeissen
Bernard Ringeissen
Bernard Ringeissen is a French classical pianist.He was born in Paris in 1934. His first teacher, at age 7, was Georges de Lausnay. He entered the Conservatoire Nationale Supérieure de Musique in 1947, aged 12, and won the Premier Prix when he was sixteen. He had further study with Marguerite...
, Zoran Todorovich, Mischa Maisky
Mischa Maisky
Mischa Maisky is a Latvian cellist.Maisky began studies at the Leningrad Conservatory and later with Mstislav Rostropovich at the Moscow Conservatory whilst pursuing a concert career throughout the Soviet Union. In 1966 he won 6th Prize at the Moscow International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 1970,...
, Boris Berezovsky
Boris Berezovsky (pianist)
- Biography :Berezovsky studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Eliso Virsaladze and privately with Alexander Satz. Following his London début at the Wigmore Hall in 1988, The Times described him as "an artist of exceptional promise, a player of dazzling virtuosity and formidable power."In May 2005...
, Sergey Khachatryan
Sergey Khachatryan
Sergey Khachatryan is an Armenian violinist. He was born in Yerevan in 1985.He made his New York City debut on August 4, 2006, playing the Beethoven Violin Concerto in Avery Fisher Hall under the baton of Osmo Vänskä.-Prizes:...
, Isabel Bayrakdarian
Isabel Bayrakdarian
Isabel Bayrakdarian is a Grammy Award-nominated Armenian Canadian opera singer.-Early life:Born in Lebanon in 1974, she moved to Canada as a teenager. Bayrakdarian graduated in 1997 from the University of Toronto with an honours B.A.Sc...
, Sergei Babayan
Sergei Babayan
Sergei Babayan is an Armenian-American concert pianist.-Biography:Babayan began his musical studies at age six with Luisa Markaryan. He studied under Lev Naumov and at the Moscow Conservatory under Vera Gornostayeva and Mikhail Pletnev. In 1989 Babayan travelled to the United States...
, Sahan Arzruni
Sahan Arzruni
Şahan Arzruni is an Armenian pianist, composer, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, writer and producer.Arzruni was born in Istanbul, Turkey, whose family name belongs to an ancient Armenian dynasty...
, Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer is a German classical violinist and pianist.-Biography:Julia Fischer, born in Munich, Germany, is of German-Slovakian parentage. Her mother, Viera Fischer , came from the German minority in Slovakia and immigrated from Košice, Slovakia to the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972...
, Wolfgang Meyer, Sergey Larin, Hasmik Papian
Hasmik Papian
- Biography :Hasmik Papian graduated from High Academy in Yerevan first as a violinist, then as a singer. After her debut at the Armenian National Opera, she was invited as a soloist among others by Opera Bonn and Deutsche Oper am Rhein, Düsseldorf, Germany...
, Vladimir Chernov
Vladimir Chernov
Vladimir Chernov is a Russian baritone, particularly associated with the Russian and Italian opera repertories.-Early life:...
, Sergei Nakariakov
Sergei Nakariakov
Sergei Mikhailovich Nakariakov is a Russian virtuoso trumpeter who came to prominence in the late 1990s. He released his first CD recording in 1992 at the age of 15.-Recordings:...
, Catherine Manoukian
Catherine Manoukian
Catherine Manoukian is a Canadian violinist.-Background and Early Life:Catherine Manoukian was born in Toronto, Canada. She is from an ethnically diverse background, consisting of Armenian, Russian, German, and Japanese origins...
and many others.
As a guest conductor he appeared with many orchestras in Europe, among them the Frankfurt Opera, the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n TV and Radio Orchestra, the Pasadena
Pasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
Symphony Orchestra and Kärntner Sinfonieorchester.
He was Artistic Director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
of several festivals. Since 2007 he has been the principal conductor at the Yerevan International Music Festival, which is an annual event and hosts numerous world-known musicians.
His large repertoire includes all epochs from baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
to contemporary music, symphonic works as well as the chamber orchestra repertoire and operas. Several pieces by composers from Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and abroad have been written for him and world premiered by him and his orchestras. In 2007 the Ministry
Ministry (government department)
A ministry is a specialised organisation responsible for a sector of government public administration, sometimes led by a minister or a senior public servant, that can have responsibility for one or more departments, agencies, bureaus, commissions or other smaller executive, advisory, managerial or...
of Culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
awarded him with Meritorious Worker of Art
Meritorious Artist
Meritorious Artist , also translated as Merited Artist, Deserved Artist or Distinguished Artist or Honorary Artist or Honorable Actor) is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Russian Federation, Union republics, and Autonomous republics, also in some other Eastern bloc states, as well as in a...
title.
Selected discography
- Gomidas - songs Isabel BayrakdarianIsabel BayrakdarianIsabel Bayrakdarian is a Grammy Award-nominated Armenian Canadian opera singer.-Early life:Born in Lebanon in 1974, she moved to Canada as a teenager. Bayrakdarian graduated in 1997 from the University of Toronto with an honours B.A.Sc...
, Serouj KradjianSerouj Kradjian-Early life and education:At fourteen earned a scholarship to study in Vienna, and was gaining allocades by the age of seven. He moved to Vienna at fourteen to pursue his training on a scholarship. He later studied with Marietta Orlov at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Music, where he...
(arrangements and piano), Chamber players of the Armenian Philharmonic OrchestraArmenian Philharmonic OrchestraThe Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan State Conservatory. Now it performs in Khachaturian Hall, Yerevan....
, conducted by Eduard Topchjan. Nonesuch, 2005