Eduard Topchjan ( hy, Էդուարդ Թոփչյան; born in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

) is an Armenian conductor, the principal conductor and artistic director of the

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (''ANPO'') (Armenian: Հայաստանի ազգային ֆիլհարմոնիկ նվագախումբ) is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan S ...

Biography

Topchjan studied violin at the Yerevan Komitas Conservatory and went on to study conducting with

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

n conductor Ohan Durian followed by consultations from Sir

Georg Solti Sir Georg Solti ( , ; born György Stern; 21 October 1912 – 5 September 1997) was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor, known for his appearances with opera companies in Munich, Frankfurt and London, and as a long-servin ...

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the London Symphony ...

and

Nello Santi Nello Santi (22 September 1931 – 6 February 2020) was an Italian conductor. He was associated with the Opernhaus Zürich for six decades, and was a regular conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He was focused on Italian reperto ...

. Topchjan started conducting in 1991 when with a group of his friends from the Yerevan Komitas Conservatory he created the Serenade Chamber Orchestra, later known as the Armenian Chamber Players. The group has performed at over 1000 concerts in Europe, winning prizes at various international competitions and releasing CDs on the

Thorofon Thorofon Schallplatten KG is a classical record label based in Wedemark, Germany. Among the several series of recordings the label has published, there are works and titles such as Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas, the complete works for solo ...

label. Eduard Topchjan made his debut with the

in 2000, when an orchestra composed of the Serenade Chamber Orchestra musicians and a group of leading APO musicians had an appearance at Bad Fussing Festival,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. The same year he was appointed as the

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

and Principal Conductor of the APO and started appearances with the APO in

and abroad, interpreting the main symphonic repertoire as well as new compositions. Eduard-Topchyan

In 2001, he appeared with the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra at the Grand Hall of the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

, and in 2003, at the

Bolshoi Theater The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, literally "Big Theater", p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈatər) is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds ballet and ope ...

. In autumn 2006 the APO led by Eduard Topchjan participated in the 41st International Music Festival ''

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

n Autumn'' held in

Brno Brno ( , ; german: Brünn ) is a city in the South Moravian Region of the Czech Republic. Located at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers, Brno has about 380,000 inhabitants, making it the second-largest city in the Czech Republic ...

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and continued the tour visiting also

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

and

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

(

). In February 2007 the APO with Maestro Topchjan toured France and appeared in

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...

St. Etienne ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, Valence,

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

Issy les Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cathe ...

, which was the culmination of the ''Year of Armenia in France''. In 2008 the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra led by Eduard Topchjan made a very successful tour over Japan with 15 concerts in the best concert halls in Tokyo, Osaka, Niigata, Nagoya, Hamamatsu and many others. Topchjan is especially known for introducing music to both the orchestral and operatic repertoire. He has performed with this orchestra the operas ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 December ...

'', ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was base ...

''; ''

Il tabarro ''Il tabarro'' (''The Cloak'') is an opera in one act by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Giuseppe Adami, based on 's play ''La houppelande''. It is the first of the trio of operas known as ''Il trittico''. The first performance was given ...

'', ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', ''

Turandot ''Turandot'' (; see below) is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, posthumously completed by Franco Alfano in 1926, and set to a libretto in Italian by Giuseppe Adami and Renato Simoni. ''Turandot'' best-known aria is "Nessun dorma", whi ...

'', ''

Simone Boccanegra Simone Boccanegra (; lij, Scimon Boccaneigra ; died 1363) was the first Doge of Genoa. He became doge in 1339, but was ousted from power six years later. He regained the position in 1356, retaining it until his death in 1363. His story was popul ...

'', ''

Rigoletto ''Rigoletto'' is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the 1832 play ''Le roi s'amuse'' by Victor Hugo. Despite serious initial problems with the Austrian censors who had cont ...

'', ''

Pagliacci ''Pagliacci'' (; literal translation, "Clowns") is an Italian opera in a prologue and two acts, with music and libretto by Ruggero Leoncavallo. The opera tells the tale of Canio, actor and leader of a commedia dell'arte theatrical company, who m ...

'', '' The Queen of Spades'', ''

Tosca ''Tosca'' is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It premiered at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, Teatro Costanzi in Rome on 14 January 1900. The work, based on Victorien Sardou's 1 ...

'', ''

La bohème ''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...

'' and others. Eduard Topchjan has appeared with such artists as

Steven Isserlis Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958) is a British cellist. He has led a distinguished career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, author and broadcaster. Acclaimed for his profound musicianship, he is also noted for his diverse repert ...

David Geringas David Geringas ( lt, Dovydas Geringas; born 29 July 1946 in Vilnius) is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the b ...

Renato Bruson Renato Bruson (born 13 January 1936) is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. He was born in Granze near Padua, Italy. Biography and career ...

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She is recognized as one of the world's top violists. She has spent her career in the US and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy A ...

Alexei Lubimov Alexei Lubimov (born 1944 as Алексе́й Бори́сович Люби́мов, Alexey Borisovich Lyubimov) is a Russian pianist, fortepianist and harpsichordist. Lubimov studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Heinrich Neuhaus and Lev Nau ...

Emmanuel Pahud Emmanuel Pahud (born 27 January 1970) is a Franco-Swiss flautist. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland. His father is of French and Swiss background and his mother is French. The Berlin-based flutistPatrick LamEmmanuel Pahud – The showcase behi ...

Bernd Glemser Bernd Glemser (born 1962, Dürbheim) is a German pianist. A student of Vitaly Margulis, in 1989 he became Germany's youngest piano professor at Saarbrücken's Musikhochschule. He has recorded major pieces by Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Schumann, ...

, Tibor Varga, François-Joël Thiollier,

Bernard Ringeissen Bernard Ringeissen (born 15 May 1934) is a French classical pianist. He was born in Paris in 1934. His first teacher, at age 7, was Georges de Lausnay. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in 1947, aged 12, and won the Pr ...

Zoran Todorovich Zoran Todorovich () is German opera singer, director and costume designer of Serbian origin. He is lirico-spinto tenor, and started his career in Belgrade, Serbia, where he was born. Biography Zoran Todorovich was born in Belgrade in 1961, Ser ...

Mischa Maisky Mischa Maisky ( lv, Miša Maiskis, he, מישה מייסקי, russian: Миша Майский; born 10 January 1948) is a Soviet-born Israeli cellist. Biography Mischa Maisky was born in 1948 in Riga and is the younger brother of organist, har ...

, Boris Berezovsky,

Sergey Khachatryan Sergey Khachatryan (also spelled Sergei Khachatryan; hy, Սերգեյ Խաչատրյան) (born 5 April 1985 in Yerevan) is an Armenian violinist. Since 1993 he has lived in Germany where he gave his first orchestral concert at the age of nine in ...

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian ( arm, Իզապէլ Պայրագտարեան; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an ...

Sergei Babayan Sergei Babayan ( hy, Սերգեյ Բաբայան; born 1 January 1961) is an Armenian-American pianist. Described by ''Le Devoir'' as a "genius", Babayan won many international competitions, including the Robert Casadesus International Piano Comp ...

Sahan Arzruni Sahan may refer to: People * Sahan Palihakkara, Sri Lankan cricketer * Sahan Wijesiri, Sri Lankan cricketer See also * Şahan, Armenian name * Sahan Kalan {{unsourced, date=February 2013 Sahan Kalan is a village in Tehsil Kharian, in the Guj ...

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Hasmik Papian Hasmik Papian ( hy, Հասմիկ Պապյան; born 2 September 1961) is an Armenians, Armenian soprano. She was awarded the People's Artist of Armenia title in 2004. Papian was named a Cultural ambassador of Armenia in the World for her contribut ...

Vladimir Chernov Vladimir Nikolaïevitch Chernov (born 22 September 1953) is a Russian baritone, particularly associated with the Russian and Italian opera repertories. Early life Vladimir Chernov was born in a small village near the town of Krasnodar in southe ...

Sergei Nakariakov Sergei Mikhailovich Nakariakov (russian: Серге́й Михайлович Накаряков; ; born May 10, 1977, in Gorky) is a Russian-Israeli virtuoso trumpeter residing in Paris, France, who came to prominence in the late 1990s. He rel ...

, Catherine Manoukian,

Placido Domingo Placido may refer to: People Surname *José Plácido de Castro (1873–1908), Brazilian soldier and politician *Michele Placido, (born 1946) Italian actor and director * Plácido Vega y Daza, (1830-1878) 19th century Mexican general and politician ...

Pinchas Zukerman Pinchas Zukerman ( he, פנחס צוקרמן, born 16 July 1948) is an Israeli-American violinist, violist and conductor. Life and career Zukerman was born in Tel Aviv, to Jewish parents and Holocaust survivors Yehuda and Miriam Lieberman Zuk ...

, Konstantin Lifschitz, François-Frédéric Guy, Vag Papian,

Mario Brunello Mario Brunello (born 1960) is an Italian cellist and musician. The turning point in his artistic life was the 1986 victory of the International Tchaikovsky Competition. Life and career Origins and musical beginnings Brunello, born in Castelfra ...

Kirill Gerstein Kirill Gerstein (russian: Кирилл Герштейн) (born 23 October 1979) is a Russian-American concert pianist. He is the sixth recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award. Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based i ...

, Kolya Blacher and many others. As a guest conductor he appeared with many orchestras in Europe, among them the

Frankfurt Opera The Oper Frankfurt (Frankfurt Opera) is a German opera company based in Frankfurt. Opera in Frankfurt am Main has a long tradition, with many world premieres such as Franz Shrek's ''Der ferne Klang'' in 1912, '' Fennimore und Gerda'' by Frede ...

, the Mecklenburgisches Staatstheater Schwerin, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, the National Philharmonic Orchestra of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

n TV and Radio Orchestra, the Pasadena Symphony and Kärntner Sinfonieorchester. He was

of several festivals. Since 2007 he has been the principal conductor at the Yerevan International Music Festival, which is an annual event and hosts numerous world-known musicians. His vast repertoire includes all epochs from

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

contemporary music Contemporary classical music is classical music composed close to the present day. At the beginning of the 21st century, it commonly referred to the post-1945 modern forms of post-tonal music after the death of Anton Webern, and included serial ...

, symphonic works as well as the chamber orchestra repertoire and operas. Several pieces by composers from

and abroad have been written for him and world premiered by him and his orchestras.

Awards

In 2007 the Ministry of Culture of

awarded him with Meritorious Worker of Art title. In 2011 he was awarded a Gold Medal of the Ministry of Culture of Armenia. In Autumn 2013 Maestro Topchjan was befitted with knighthood being awarded the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

Discography

2011 ''Armenian Rhapsody''-

Aram Khachaturian Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a Soviet and Armenian ...

: Concerto-Rhapsody for cello & orchestra, Suren Zakaryan: Monograph, for cello & chamber orchestra, Vache Sharafyan: Suite for cello & orchestra, Komitas:Krounk (the Crane) song. Alexander Chaushian, cello. Conductor: Eduard Topchjan. BIS records 2011 2008 ''Gomidas - songs''

Serouj Kradjian Serouj Kradjian (born in 1973) is a Canadian Grammy-nominated and Juno-winning pianist and composer. Early life and education Born in 1973, at fourteen earned a scholarship to study in Vienna, and was gaining accolades by the age of seven. He lat ...

(arrangements and piano), Chamber players of the

, conducted by Eduard Topchjan. Nonesuch, 2005Booklet includes sung texts in Armenian transliteration and English translation 2007 '' Catherine Manoukian''. Aram Khachaturian: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra. Dmitry Shostakovich: Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, in A minor op. 77. Catherine Manoukian, violin.

. Conductor: Eduard Topchjan. Marquis Records

References

External links

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Eduard Topchjan has been awarded the Italian Order of Merit for Labour
2013-11-20 {{DEFAULTSORT:Topchjan, Eduard Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Armenian conductors (music) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century conductors (music)