By S.T.
On March 9, 2025, I had the chance to attend the stunning 40th Musical Armenia concert at Carnegie Hall. This concert was dedicated to celebrating the rich and ever-blooming Armenian musical culture. The 40th edition was notable for introducing us to young composer Arno Melkonyan and pianist Vartan Arakelian.
Since this was my first time attending a classical concert, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. Even though we had received the concert program with the names of the performers and the pieces beforehand, it didn’t prepare me for the beauty of their playing, which truly captured my heart.
Let’s start with the venue. I was very excited to visit such a prestigious place as Carnegie Hall, and of course, in advance of the night, I looked up pictures of Weill Recital Hall, where the concert was held. But the pictures didn’t compare to what I saw in person. A spacious room with high ceilings, beautiful chandeliers, subdued lighting that created an intimate atmosphere, and a stage that commanded attention. The hall was nearly full, which was clear from the lack of empty seats and the enthusiastic applause that followed each performance. It’s also worth mentioning how elegantly the audience was dressed – women wore formal dresses, while men were dressed more casually. Before the performance started, I realized that I was sitting in the middle of the New York City Armenian community. They were speaking in English, but they used some Armenian words. It was clear that they were born in America but still celebrated their culture. Two women next to me were cheering extra hard for one of the performers and later on, after the intermission, he joined them and I found out that they were his mother and sister. So yes, I was sitting near the star of the performance, but unfortunately, I wasn’t able to speak to him.
Seventeen-year-old pianist Vartan Arakelian opened the concert with works by some of the most exceptional composers in music history: Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Robert Schumann. Vartan’s playing gave me goosebumps. It was so beautiful and captivating that I listened to these masterpieces with bated breath. One piece that especially stood out for me was Chopin’s “Nocturne in C Minor”. I was surprised to recognize the melody immediately. It’s one of the saddest, yet most beautiful pieces I’ve ever heard. I completely agree with the celebrated German composer Theodor Kullak, who said about this piece: “The design and poetic contents of this nocturne make it the most important one that Chopin created; the chief subject is a masterly expression of a great powerful grief”. Hearing it performed by such a talented pianist – without a single hesitation and fully immersed in his playing – was unforgettable. I’m sure it’s not easy to captivate the attention of every listener, but I can say with certainty that he did just that. Arakelian concluded his part of the program with Arno Babadjanian’s “Six Pictures for Piano”, which introduced us to the soul of Armenian music.
After the intermission, the second part of the concert began. We saw twenty-one-year-old pianist and composer Arno Melkonyan present a creative program dedicated to his homeland, beautiful Armenia. The first of his works he presented was the “Wedding Song.” Arno Melkonyan sat down at the piano and was accompanied by Iranian-born musician Alireza Khodayari, who held an unfamiliar instrument in his hands. But the moment he began to play, I immediately recognized its sound from the music of my own culture. It turned out to be the tar, a cherished instrument in many Middle Eastern cultures, including Tajikistan, my homeland. This instrument is used in many of our traditional songs. And believe me, I have heard a lot of them. After all, no Tajik wedding takes place without dancing to our ethnic music. This connection made the piece especially meaningful to me, and learning the story behind it made me love it even more.
The “Wedding Song” for piano and tar is based on an Armenian folk tune by Komitas, one of the greatest Armenian composers and singers. By traveling from town-to-town, Komitas collected Armenian folk music, and his exact and detailed research established Armenian musicology on a scientific basis. Komitas did a great amount of work to preserve Armenia’s music history. After digging through his collections of Komitas’s music, Arno Melkonyan found a tune that particularly spoke to him. The song “Rose, I Don’t Love You” is meant to pay respect and offer compliments to the bride. The lyrics compare the bride to several different flowers, including the rose, which, while beautiful and pleasant in scent, cannot compare to the bride due to its thorny nature. In his reimagining of this song as a duet, Melkonyan used 20th- century modal harmonies, experimenting with light dissonance to show how thorny a rose could be while remaining beautiful.
The story was as beautiful as the music. I had never heard the combination of piano and tar played together before, but this turned out to be my favorite piece of the evening. Arno Melkonyan revealed himself not only as a brilliant composer, whose works will undoubtedly be celebrated in the future, but also as a gifted pianist who impressed all the listeners with his playing. It’s rare to hear pieces performed by the composers themselves, which made this concert even more special.
It is impossible not to mention other players who made the Musical Armenia unforgettable. For “String Quartet No. 1” Arno Melkonyan brought out violinists Alisa Shin and Analuna Chahine, violist Minjun Seo, and cellist Queralt Giralt. They were wearing elegant black suits and dresses. The musical piece was written for chordophones only, so Melkonyan did not perform himself. Each of their performances was special and beautiful. Even to me, a person who doesn’t know much about music, it was clear that they were enjoying themselves, that they loved music, and that they were completely devoted to it. Seeing this, it was impossible not to feel the same.
I was delighted by every performer. They all deserved a loud ovation that lasted for several minutes. The concert left only the most pleasant impressions. Would I want to hear them again? Definitely yes. Did this concert inspire me to attend more? Absolutely! And will I ever forget my first classical music concert? Unquestionably, no.
Works Cited
Avakian, Florence. “A Stunning 40th Musical Armenia Concert at Carnegie Hall.” The Armenian Weekly, Apr. 2025, armenianweekly.com/2025/04/01/a-stunning-40th-musical-armenia-concert-at-carnegie-hall/. Accessed 28 Apr. 2025.
Arno Melkonyan. “““Վարդ, զքե չըմ սիրի” a Wedding Song: Duet for Piano and Tar” – Arno Melkonyan.” YouTube, 7 Nov. 2024, www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPB7eB-9k5o. Accessed 28Apr. 2025.
“Komitas | Armenian Composer.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britannica.com/biography/Komitas.
