Sevak Avanesyan - Black
Marjan Hellraeth
Sevak Avanesyan’s technical skills – including his cello-sound, his rhythmic control, his perfect intonation, his natural feeling for tempi – are obvious to anyone who hears him play, but he has particularly impressed me with his deep musicality, and through his constant readiness to search and to find the real meaning of the music behind the notes.” -
Andrey Boreyko, Music Director of Artis - Naples
Autumn 2020. The 30-year-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan flared up unexpectedly. This 44-days of war was witnessed from very close-by by the Armenian-Belgian cellist Sevak Avanesyan.
On the evening of Thursday, October 8, 2020, the dome of Ghazanchetsots Cathedral was hit by a shell, which also severely damaged the building's interior. Soon after the explosion, Sevak Avanesyan sat among the rubble, playing music to mourn. A poignant video of Avanesyan playing "Krunk" by the Armenian composer Komitas, went around the world!
After six weeks of bloody armed conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, Russia has brokered a full ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but leaves the region short of a clear and stable peace.
With ‘BLACK’, Sevak Avanesyan takes up the rough reality that he experienced at first hand. Music through the eyes of a soldier. He invites us to dialogue and brings symbolic 44 'solo cello work by Bach over Ligeti, to Armenian work by Komitas. Haunting and pure. A challenging and artistic performance for both performer and listener.
This program goes hand in hand with unique images that you've never seen before. The war through the eyes of a musician!