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Şahan Arzruni

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Şahan Arzruni
Şahan Arzruni in 2020
Şahan Arzruni in 2020
Background information
Born8 June 1943 (1943-06-08) (age 81)
Istanbul, Turkey
OriginArmenian
GenresClassical
Occupation(s)Performer, producer, writer
InstrumentPiano
Websitewww.sahanarzruni.com[1]

Şahan Arzruni // ⓘ (Armenian: Շահան Արծրունի; born 8 June 1943) is a New York–based Armenian classical pianist, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, composer, writer and producer.[2]

Early life and education

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Arzruni (also transliterated as Artsruni), whose family name belongs to an ancient Armenian nobility, was born in Istanbul, Turkey. His father is Stepan Jirayr Arzruni, and mother Maryam Kalpak. Composer Sirvart Kalpakyan Karamanuk is his maternal aunt who encouraged Arzruni to play the piano at the age of four; he appeared publicly at the age of five.[3] He received his general education at Esayan[4] and Getronagan[5] Armenian Lyceums, and graduated from the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory (now Istanbul University State Conservatory),[6] where he studied piano with Ferdi Statzer and harmony with Raşit Abed.

He moved to New York City in 1964 to study further at the Juilliard School of Music on a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. There his principal teachers were Sascha Gorodnitzki in piano, Felix Galimir in chamber music, Joseph Bloch in piano literature, and Hall Overton in composition. Arzruni graduated from Juilliard, earning his Bachelor of Science degree in 1967 and a Master of Science degree in 1968.[7] Arzruni has also pursued doctoral studies at New York University.

Career

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Motivated by ethnic awareness in the United States, Arzruni continuously investigates the musical roots of his Armenian heritage.[8][9] He researches traditional Armenian music and has recorded a three-disc anthology of Armenian piano music, as well as co-produced an eight-disc set of instrumental and vocal Armenian music. He also delivered papers and organized symposia for such institutions as Harvard University, Columbia University and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Şahan Arzruni is the author of books and a contributor of articles for academic journals; he has also written for various editions of The New Grove Dictionary and the Dictionary of the Middle Ages.

A Steinway artist, he was invited to perform on an 1869 Steinway piano at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the inaugural of the centennial celebrations of the Museum’s collection of historic instruments.[10] In 2001, Mr. Arzruni delivered a lecture on Armenian liturgical chants at the invitation of the U.S. Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C.[11]

Şahan Arzruni has performed with Victor Borge, playing the role of straight man in Borge's concerts starting with the late 1960s, and appeared with Borge at the 1980 Royal Variety Show Command Performance where the pair performed Borge's classic comedic arrangement for duet piano of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody.[12][13]

Arzruni appeared in television and radio broadcasts, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show and a number of PBS specials and has recorded for European radio networks, including the BBC. Arzruni has given command performances at the White House, as well as the British, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic courts. In 2008, he was awarded "Honorary Professorship" from Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in Armenia. In 2015, Şahan Arzruni was awarded the Presidential Movses Khorenatsi medal, the Republic of Armenia's highest cultural award.[14]

In 2017, 2019, and again in 2022 and 2024, Arzruni visited various provinces of Armenia, as well as the Republic of Artsakh, coaching young musicians and performing in recitals. While on the road, he stopped over in ancient, remote monasteries, exploring and photographing the sites. This documentation has served as the basis of a series of articles in Paros monthly, published in Istanbul.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Şahan Arzruni curated a series of mini-concerts online, "Together for Armenia," to help Armenia financially.[15][16]

Arzruni records for New World Records,[17] Composers Recordings, Musical Heritage Society, Hearts of Space, Philips, Varèse Sarabande, Good Music,[18] Positively Armenian, Kalan Müzik, and AGBU.

Awards, Grants and Honors

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Discography

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Performer

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Producer

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Writings

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  • Քրիստափոր Կարա-Մուրզայի կեանքը կը վերածուի լաւ պատմուած զրոյցի [The life of Kristapor Kara-Murza evolves into an effective story]. Istanbul: Jamanak, 2014-06-14, p 3 (Armenian).
  • Dubal, David (1993). Remembering Horowitz. New York, NY: Schirmer Books. pp. 66–68. ISBN 0028706765.

References

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  1. ^ "Home". Sahan Arzruni.
  2. ^ stjohn (2018-08-09). "Şahan Arzruni in Performance in Milwaukee". St. John Armenian Church. Retrieved 2023-03-21.
  3. ^ "Հրաշք մանուկ -- Շահան Արծրունի (Wunderkind: Sahan Arzruni)". Marmara. 1949-11-14.
  4. ^ "Home". esayan.com.
  5. ^ "Getronagan Armenian High School".
  6. ^ "İstanbul Üniversitesi | Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü - 1453".
  7. ^ "Alumni News: February 2010". Juilliard.edu. Archived from the original on 2011-02-12. Sahan Arzruni (Diploma '65, BS '67, MS '68, piano)
  8. ^ Avakian, Florence (22 September 2013). "Noted Pianist Sahan Arzruni to Perform in New York October 20". No. 276. South Orange, New Jersey, USA: Armenian Interests. pp. 11–12.
  9. ^ "Շահան Արծրունի ներկայիս կը պատրաստէ նոր ձայնագրութիւն մը (Şahan Arzruni is preparing a New Recording)" (in Armenian). No. 10332. Istanbul. Jamanak. 28 January 2014. pp. 1, 4.
  10. ^ Page, Tim (September 26, 1983). "Concert: Arzruni at Museum". The New York Times. p. C10. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  11. ^ "Sahan Arzruni to Deliver Ninth Annual Vardanants Day Armenian Lecture-Recital". Library of Congress.
  12. ^ Jensen, Jacob (January 1, 2014). Victor Borge: Mennesket Bag Smilet. Denmark: People's Press. pp. 172, 232, 285, 287, 288, 290, 313, 336, 386. ISBN 9788771376609. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  13. ^ Kozinn, Allan (July 17, 1988). "Review/Concert; Victor Borge's Melange Of Relics and Inspiration". The New York Times. p. Section 1, Page 39. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. ^ "ԱՐԽԻՒ - 300516". www.normarmara.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-10.
  15. ^ "Fund for Armenian Relief "Together for Armenia" concert series". YouTube. Parev TV. Archived from the original on 2021-12-15. Retrieved 3 August 2020.
  16. ^ "Միասնաբար առ Հայաստան (Together for Armenia)" (in Armenian). No. 12342. Istanbul. Jamanak. 15 September 2020. p. 3.
  17. ^ "Home". newworldrecords.org.
  18. ^ Yester Video [dead link‍]
  19. ^ Mirror-Spectator, The Armenian (2020-02-05). "A New Look at Alan Hovhannes". The Armenian Mirror-Spectator. Retrieved 2020-02-17.
  20. ^ Paget, Clive. "Musical America". Musical America. Performing Arts Resources, LLC. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  21. ^ Yedig, Serhan (March 2015). "Şahan Arzruni". No. 101. Turkey: Andante. pp. 36, 37.
  22. ^ Barnett, Rob. "Alan HOVHANESS (1911-2000) 80th Birthday Celebration - 1991". Music Web International. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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