| Eduard Topchjan |
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Artistic Director and Principal Conductor
The outstanding Armenian conductor Eduard Topchjan studied violin at the Yerevan Conservatory and went on to study conducting with an eminent Armenian conductor Ohan Durian followed by valuable 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 conservatory he created the Serenade Chamber Orchestra. The Serenade at once became the most promising orchestra of the younger generation in Armenia and shortly afterwards it made a fine reputation in Europe winning prizes at various international competitions and releasing highly reputed CDs at several labels.
Eduard Topchjan made his debut with the APO in 2000, when an orchestra comprised of the Serenade Chamber Orchestra musicians and a group of leading APO musicians had a remarkably successful appearance at Bad Fussing Festival, Germany. The same year he is appointed the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the APO and starts successful appearances with the APO in Yerevan and abroad, earning much praise for his interpretations of 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”, receiving both times great acclaim from the audience and musical critics.
In autumn 2006 the APO led by Eduard Topchjan participated in the 41st International Music Festival “Moravian Autumn” held in Brno, Czech Republic and continued the tour visiting also Prague, Bratislava and Nuremberg (Germany) and achieving highest critical acclaim there.
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” due to the highest standard set by the orchestra and conductor.
Topchjan is especially known for introducing music both to 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 appears with such celebrated artists Steven Isserlis, David Geringas, Renato Bruson, Kim Kashkashian, Alexei Lubimov, Emmanuel Pahud, Bernd Glemser, Tibor Varga, François-Joël Thiollier, Bernard Ringeissen, Zoran Todorovich, Misha Maisky, Boris Berezovsky, Sergey Khachatryan, Isabel Bayrakdarian, Sergei Babayan, Julia Fischer, Wolfgang Meyer, Sergey Larin, Hasmik Papyan, Vladimir Chernov, Sergey Nakariakov and many others.
As a guest conductor he appeared with many important orchestras in Europe, among them the Frankfurt Opera, the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia, Romanian TV and Radio Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra and Kärntner Sinfonieorchester.
He was Artistic Director of several significant festivals. Since 2007 he is a dominant 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.
His extraordinary talent and conducting style attracted attention of the public and gained him highest critical and public acclaim. In 2007 the Ministry of Culture of Armenia awarded him with “Meritorious Worker of Art” title.
REPERTOIRE (Important works)
J.S. Bach · All Brandenburg Concerts
· All Cembalo-Concerts
· Violin Concerts in a & E
· Double concerts for two violins, violin/oboe
· Div. Cantatas
C.Ph.E. Bach · Flute Concerts
B. Bartók · Music for String Instruments, Percussion and Celeste
· Divertimento for Strings
· Romanian Folk Dances
L. van Beethoven · Symphony Nr. 1-9
· All solo concerts
· String Quartets, Arrangements for string orchestra:
op. 95 (Mahler), op. 131 (Mitropoulos), op. 133 Grosse
Fuge (Weingartner), op. 135
H. Berlioz · Symphonie Fantastique
· Harold in Italy
E. Bloch · Baal Shem for violin and Orchestra
· From Jewish Life for Cello and Orchestra
J. Brahms · All symphonies
· German Requiem
· Piano concerts Nr. 1 & 2
· Violin concerts
· Concert for violin, cello and Orchestra
B. Britten · Simple Symphony
M. Bruch · Violin Concerto Nr. 1
A. Bruckner · Symphonies Nr. 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
· Quintet for strings
D. Buxtehude · Magnificat
L. Cherubini · Requiem c-moll
F. Chopin · Piano concerts Nr. 1 & 2
C. Debussy · La mer
· Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
C. Diethelm · Menhir , Meditation for violin & String orchestra op. 265
A. Dvořák · Symphony Nr. 9
· Requiem
· Violin concert
· Cello concert
· Serenade for String Orchestra
E. Elgar · Cello concert
· Serenade for String Orchestra
G. Gershwin · Rhapsody in Blue
· Piano concert in F-Dur
· An American in Paris
E. Grieg · Piano concert
· Suite Aus Holbergs Zeit
D. Haladjian · Missa di Lumine
· Music in Shadow for String Orchestra
(dedicated to Serenade Chamber Orchestra/E.Topchjan, UA 2003)
K.A. Hartmann · Concerto funebre” for Violin and Orchestra
J. Haydn · Div. Symphonies
· Div. Piano concerts
· Piano concert in C & D
· Violin concert in G & C
A. Honegger · Symphony Nr. 2
A. Khatchaturian All works for Orchestra:
· Ballets Spartacus and Gayaneh
· Symphony Nr. 2
· Violin concert
· Piano concert
· Concert-Rhapsody for cello
Komitas · Armenian Folk Miniatures (arrangement by S. Aslamazian)
R. Leoncavallo · I Pagliacci
G. Ligeti · Ramifications
F. Liszt · Piano concert Nr. 2
· Faust-Symphony
G. Mahler · Symphony Nr. 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
T. Mansuryan · Solo concert for Violin, Viola, Cello, Piano
· Serenade for singing waters and singing crickets
(dedicated to Serenade Chamber Orchestra/E.Topchjan, UA 2000)
F. Mendelssohn · Symphony in A-Dur op. 90 ( Italian )
· Violin concert in e-moll op. 64 & d-moll
E. Mirzoyan · Symphony for strings and kettledrums
· Epitaph
· Variations for string orchestra
W.A. Mozart · Don Giovanni
· Requiem
· Die Zauberflöte
· Symphony Nr. 25, all symphonies Nr. 29-41
· Div. Messes
· Div. Overtures & Arias
· All violin concerts
· Piano concert
· Flute concert
· Serenades, Divertimenti: Eine kleine Nachtmusik u.a.
M. Mussorgsky · Pictures at an exhibition
· Boris Godunov
K.Pendercki · Symphony No 2
· Concerto Grosso for two cellos
· Symphonietta for strings
G.B. Pergolesi · Stabat mater
F. Poulenc · Organ concert
G. Puccini · La Bohema
· Madame Butterfly
· Tosca
· Il Trittico
· Turandot
S. Rachmaninov · Piano concerts 2, 3, 5
· Symphony No 3
M. Ravel · Daphnis et Chloë
· Bolero
· Piano concert in G-Dur
· Pavane pour une Infante défunte (Fassung f. Kammerorch.)
N. Rimskji-Korsakov · Scheherazade
G. Rossini · Il barbiere di Siviglia
· Il viaggio a Reims
· Div. Overtures
C. Saint-Saëns · Le carnaval des animaux
· Piano concert Nr. 2
D. Shostakovich · Symphonies Nr. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
· Violin concert Nr. 1
· Piano concert Nr. 1
· Chamber Symphony op. 110 a for String Orchestra
· Chamber Symphony op. 118 a for String Orchestra
F. Schubert · All symphonies
· Masses G-Dur, Es-Dur
· 5 Deutsche and 7 Trios
· Rondo A-Dur for violin and String orchestra
· Der Tod und das Mädchen (arranged for string orchestra by Gustav Mahler)
R. Schumann · Piano concert
· Requiem for Mignon
R. Shchedrin-G. Bizet · Carmen-Suite for String orchestra & 28 percussion instruments
J. Sibelius · Symphony Nr. 2
· Valse triste
· Violin concert
· Romance for String Orchestra
R. Strauss · Also sprach Zarathustra
· Don Juan
· Eine Alpensinfonie
· Metamorphosen
J. Strauss · Div. Waltes, Polkas etc.
· Div. Overtures
I. Stravinsky · Concert in D for Strings
J. Suk · String Serenade
A. Terteryan · Symphony Nr. 3
P.I. Tchaikovsky · Symphony Nr. 4, 5, 6
· Manfred-Symphony
· Der Sturm
· Romeo and Juliet
· Francesca da Rimini
· Piano concert Nr. 1
· Violin concert
· Souvenir de Florence
· String Serenade
· Eugen Onegin
· Pique Dame
G. Verdi · Requiem
· Aïda
· Don Carlo
· Rigoletto
· La Traviata
· Un ballo in maschera
· Othello
· Simone Boccanegra
· La forza del destino
· Div. Szenen, Arien, Chöre, Ouvertüren
· String Quartet (arranged for String Orchestra by A. Toscanini)
A. Vivaldi · Le quattro stagioni
· Div. Instrumental concerts
Contemporary works, Premieres
Regular cooperation with living composers
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