Djivan Gasparyan (var. Jivan Gasparyan; hy, Ջիվան Գասպարյան, ; October 12, 1928 – July 6, 2021) was an Armenian musician and composer. He played the

duduk The duduk ( ; hy, դուդուկ ) or tsiranapogh ( hy, ծիրանափող, meaning “apricot-made wind instrument”), is an ancient Armenian double reed woodwind instrument made of apricot wood. It is indigenous to Armenia. Variations of th ...

, a

double reed A double reed is a type of reed used to produce sound in various wind instruments. In contrast with a single reed instrument, where the instrument is played by channeling air against one piece of cane which vibrates against the mouthpiece and c ...

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...

related to the orchestral

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

. Gasparyan is known as the "Master of the duduk". In 2006 he was nominated for

Grammy awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for the Best Traditional World Music Album.

Biography

Born in Solak, Armenia, to parents from

Mush In multiplayer online games, a MUSH (a backronymed variation on MUD most often expanded as Multi-User Shared Hallucination, though Multi-User Shared Hack, Habitat, and Holodeck are also observed) is a text-based online social medium to which mult ...

, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948, he became a soloist of the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra. He won four medals at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title ''People's Artist of Armenia''. In 2002, he received the

WOMEX WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin, whose main event is an exposition held annually in different locations throughout Europe. It integrates a trade fair, showca ...

(''World Music Expo'') Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Honorary citizen of Yerevan. A professor at the

Yerevan State Musical Conservatory Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan ( hy, Երևանի Կոմիտասի անվան պետական կոնսերվատորիա), also known as Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (YKSC) or Yerevan State Conservatory (YSC), is a state-owned colleg ...

, he instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk. In 1998 he released an album with a unique duduk

quartet In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments. Classical String quartet In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...

he formed. Creating arrangements for four musicians with "new duduk tones, alto and bass, was an extremely difficult task" and challenge, but the quartet did become a reality performing and "there is no other like it in the world", he witnessed in the liner notes of ''Nazeli''. He toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

. His music has been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films. He collaborated with many artists, such as

Sting Sting may refer to: * Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger * Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself Fictional characters and entities * Sting (Middle-eart ...

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...

Hossein Alizadeh Hossein Alizadeh ( fa, حسین علیزاده) is an Iranian musician, composer, radif-preserver, researcher, teacher, and tar, shurangiz and setar instrumentalist and improviser. He has performed with such musicians as Shahram Nazeri, Mohammad ...

Erkan Oğur Erkan Oğur (pronounced ) (born April 17, 1954) is a Turkish musician. A pioneer of fretless guitars, he invented the first fretless classical guitar in 1976.Martinelli, op. cit.Unfretted, op. cit. A composer, he has influenced many musicians wit ...

, Michael Brook, Brian May,

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X and ...

Roman Miroshnichenko Roman Maksimovich Miroshnichenko (russian: Роман Максимович Мирошниченко) (born June 4, 1977) is a Ukraine-born Russian jazz fusion guitarist, composer, and record producer. He has received numerous accolades, includin ...

, Ludovico Einaudi, Luigi Cinque, Boris Grebenshchikov,

Brian Eno Brian Peter George St John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno (; born Brian Peter George Eno, 15 May 1948) is a British musician, composer, record producer and visual artist best known for his contributions to ambient music and work in rock, pop an ...

, David Sylvian, Hans Zimmer and

Andreas Vollenweider Andreas Vollenweider (born 4 October 1953) is a Swiss harpist. He is generally categorised as a new-age musician and uses a modified electroacoustic harp of his own design. He has worked with Bobby McFerrin, Carly Simon, Luciano Pavarotti and in ...

. He also recorded with the Kronos Quartet and the

Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic, commonly referred to as the LA Phil, is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at th ...

. Gasparyan played as part of the Armenian entry "

Apricot Stone Armenia participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 with the song "Apricot Stone" written by Armen Martirosyan and Karen Kavaleryan. The song was performed by Eva Rivas. The Armenian entry for the 2010 contest in Oslo, Norway was selected th ...

" by

Eva Rivas Valeria Alexandrovna Reshetnikova-Tsatouryan ( hy, Վալերիա Ռուստետնիկովա-Ծատուրյան, russian: Валерия Александровна Решетникова-Цатурян; born 13 July 1987), better known by her stag ...

at the

2010 Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest 2010 was the 55th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Oslo, Norway, following the country's victory at the with the song "Fairytale" by Alexander Rybak. Organised by the European Broadcasting U ...

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

and became the oldest ever person to feature in a Eurovision Song Contest performance, but was not officially listed as a guest artist. Gasparyan died on July 6, 2021. It was announced by his grandson, Djivan Gasparyan Jr. He said "The world has suffered an unimaginable loss tonight. He was not only a legend, but also a person with a beautiful soul. I write with great sorrow about my huge loss. May God keep your soul in the bright sky."

Legacy and recognition

called Gasparyan "the great master of the instrument." He added, "When he lifted his duduk to his lips he cast a spell over all who listened." Gasparyan was highly recognized by the Armenian government. On his 90th birthday, Armenia's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan congratulated Gasparyan, stating: "Our people and music lovers around the world have already ranked you among the world’s great musicians. As a living legend, you are a credit to all Armenians." Upon his death, President

Armen Sarkissian Armen Vardani Sarkissian ( hy, Արմեն Վարդանի Սարգսյան; also written as Sarksyan and Sargsyan) (born 23 June 1952) is an Armenian politician, physicist and computer scientist who served as the 4th president of Armenia from 9 A ...

described him as a "legendary duduk player" who was "one of the pillars of our modern culture, whose name is associated with the creative and working activities of musicians, especially a whole generation of duduk players." Pashinyan called him "an exceptional Armenian intellectual and ranked him among the Greats of the world art; we were proud and inspired by him." Catholicos Karekin II, leader of the

Armenian Apostolic Church , native_name_lang = hy , icon = Armenian Apostolic Church logo.svg , icon_width = 100px , icon_alt = , image = Էջմիածնի_Մայր_Տաճար.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , a ...

, sent a letter of condolences to his family. "For decades, he performed the gems of the Armenian music on many stages in Armenia and abroad, serving the grateful mission of recognizing and spreading our culture," read the statement.

Discography

* ''Duduk. Armenian folk songs'' (Мелодия / Melody, 1983) / ''I Will Not Be Sad in This World'' (

All Saints Records All Saints Records is a British independent record label. It was established in 1991 by Dominic Norman-Taylor. The label has published ambient music by Brian Eno and Biosphere. History All Saints Records was founded in 1991, named after ...

, 1989) * ''Moon Shines at Night'' (

, 1993) * ''Ask Me No Questions'' (Traditional Crossroads 4268, 1994) * ''Apricots From Eden'' (Traditional Crossroads 4276, 1996) * ''Salute'' (1998) * ''Black Rock'', with Michael Brook (Realworld 46230, 1998) * ''Djivan Gasparyan Quartet - Nazeli'' (Libra Music 1998) * ''Heavenly Duduk'' (Network 1999) * ''Armenian Fantasies'' (Network 34801, 2000) * ''Nazani'' (2001) * ''Fuad'', with

(Traditional

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

& Armenian songs) (2001) * ''In My World, I Have No Pain'' (World Records - Parseghian Records, 2002) * ''Endless Vision: Persian And Armenian Songs'', with

(World Village, Harmonia Mundi, 2005) * ''Nectar for the Bitter World'' (2007) * ''The Soul of Armenia'' (Network Medien's double-CD package 2008) *''Penumbra'', with Michael Brook (Canadian Rational/bigHelium, 2008) Collaborations as guest artist *

Dead Bees on a Cake ''Dead Bees on a Cake'' is a solo album by British singer-songwriter David Sylvian, released in March 1999. It was his first solo album in 12 years since ''Secrets of the Beehive.'' The album peaked at no. 31 in the UK Albums Chart at release ...

, David Sylvian; (Gasparyan appears on the track 'Darkest Dreaming') * ''Cosmopoly'', as guest of Andreas Vollenweider (EDEL Records, SLG Records (USA/Canada) * ''Naked Spirit'', special guest of Sainkho, 1998 * '' Eden Roc'', Ludovico Einaudi, (1999) (Gasparyan appears on 3 tracks) * '' Free Fall'',

Jesse Cook Jesse Arnaud Cook is a Canadian guitarist. He is a Juno Award winner, '' Acoustic Guitar'' Player's Choice Award silver winner in the Flamenco Category, and a three-time winner of the Canadian Smooth Jazz award for Guitarist of the Year. He has ...

(Narada, 2000) (Gasparyan appears on the track "Incantation") * ''

Blood of the Snake ''Blood of the Snake'' is the fifth solo album by keyboard player Derek Sherinian. It has contributions from Billy Idol, Zakk Wylde, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash (musician), Slash, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, in addition to previous collabor ...

'',

(2006) (Gasparyan appears on the track "Prelude To Battle") * ''RockPaperScissors'', Michael Brook (EQR 0006, 2006) (Gasparyan appears on track "Pasadena part two") * ''Pangea'' with

Lian Ensemble Lian Ensemble is a Persian classical music ensemble based in Los Angeles, California, USA. History The Lian Ensemble was established in 1996 by Pirayeh Pourafar, Houman Pourmehdi. The group has performed throughout the U.S. and internationally. ...

(Houman Pourmehdi & Piraye Pourafar),

Swapan Chaudhuri Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri (born 30 March 1945), is an Indian tabla player. He has accompanied several musicians of Indian classical music, including, Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Ustad Vilayat Khan, Pandit Bhimshen Joshi, Pandit Jas ...

and

Miroslav Tadić Miroslav Tadic solo performance. Miroslav Tadić (born 1959) is a Serbian guitarist, composer, improviser and music educator. Career He performs regularly in Europe, Japan and the United States and made over 30 CDs for numerous labels including ...

(Lian Records 118, 2006) * ''Lightpost'' EP by The Apex Theory featuring Djivan Gasparyan (2007) Selection of film soundtrack contributions * ''

The Crow The Crow is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fiancée at t ...

'', soundtrack (1994) * ''

The Siege ''The Siege'' is a 1998 American action thriller film directed by Edward Zwick. The film is about a fictional situation in which terrorist cells have made several attacks in New York City. The film stars Denzel Washington, Annette Bening, Tony ...

'', soundtrack (1998) * '' Ronin'', soundtrack (1998) * '' Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture'', soundtrack 2000 * '' Syriana'', soundtrack (2005) * ''

Blood Diamond ''Blood Diamond'' is a 2006 American political war action thriller film directed and co-produced by Edward Zwick and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Connelly, and Djimon Hounsou. The title refers to blood diamonds, which are diamonds min ...

'', soundtrack (2006) * '' Samsara'', soundtrack (2011) (as Dijan Gasparyan)

References

External links

Official Website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gasparyan, Djivan 1928 births 2021 deaths Armenian composers Dudukahars Woodwind musicians Real World Records artists All Saints Records artists Armenian film score composers Male composers Male film score composers 20th-century Armenian musicians 20th-century composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century Armenian musicians 21st-century composers 21st-century male musicians Armenian folk musicians People from Kotayk Province Academics of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan