Roupen Altiparmakian (born in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

, Turkey) is an Armenian master of the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

and

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Career

When he was a child, Altiparmakian's family moved to

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

.Roupen Altiparmakian
ireference.ca He got his first violin from his father when he was eight years old. His studies of music at the Conservatory of Athens were interrupted by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. He escaped to the mountain villages of Greece, and earned his living by the playing violin. His fame grew, and he got an opportunity to collaborate with other Greek musicians, and even appeared in a number of films with his violin. In 1962, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where his career really took off. He performed with many of the Armenian, Greek and Turkish singers of the day, and recorded his first album, "Armenian Love Songs", in 1965. Famed French-born Armenian-American singer Onnik Dinkjian appeared as the lead vocalist on the album, with Roupen playing oud and providing occasional backup vocals, playing violin on a few numbers, as well as writing and/or arranging all the pieces. Altiparmakian has a unique musical style and rhythm that has earned him a respected reputation. His song "Hey Valla" originally released on the album "Armenian Love Songs" became a standard in the repertoire of Armenian-American kef bands (dance bands which play for weddings and other ethnic functions). It was covered on recordings by Richie Berberian with Mal Barsamian,

John Bilezikjian John Bilezikjian (February 1, 1948 in Los Angeles – January 19, 2015) was an Armenian-American musician and composer. Most renowned as an oud master, he also played the violin, mandolin and dumbek. He was also a traditional and contemporary s ...

, Robert Takoushian, Robert Chilingirian, Ara Topouzian, and Mike Gostanian among others. His song "Lucy" was covered by Adiss Harmandian without however, giving Roupen songwriting credit. The albums "Armenian Kef Songs" and "Oud Taxims" were released after his death by his family. They were compiled from unreleased, studio, but mostly homemade recordings, that Roupen recorded at home.

Albums

*Armenian Love Songs *Oud Taxims - The Lost Treasures *Roupen's Armenian Kef Songs

References

Sources

http://www.oud.eclipse.co.uk/altiparmakian.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Altiparmakian, Roupen People from Adana Armenian oud players Armenian violinists Armenian musicians American musicians of Armenian descent Turkish emigrants to Greece Greek emigrants to the United States Turkish people of Armenian descent Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century violinists