Deep Listening with Aram Hovhannisyan

We invite you to Studio 20 for deep listening with Aram Hovhannisyan in the frames of Sonic Laboratory on January 27 at 6:00 PM. During the listening session we will listen to two works: Nourail and String Quartet No. 1.

Nourail for alto-flute solo (2021) 7’
(Commissioned by the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival, Monaco)

Nourail was written as a part of the ballet «Sept, les Anges de Sinjar», which premiered at the Monte-Carlo Spring Arts Festival in 2022. The piece is based on Yezidi mythology, portraying Nourail as one of the Angels. The music is meditative, shaped by the nuances of breath and inspired by the improvisatory character of traditional flutes such as ney, sakuhachi, and other indigenous wind instruments. Virtuosic gestures and monodic lines unfold through breath and silence, allowing the instrument to reflect the full spirit and expressive character of the flute tradition.

String Quartet No.1 for two violins, viola and cello (2024-25) 13’
(Commissioned by Movses Poghossian and the UCLA Armenian Program, USA)

The String Quartet, written in memory of Ashot Zohrabyan, is structured as a series of interconnected episodes, each with its own distinct character, while maintaining an underlying sense of tension across the piece. The first episode is defined by dramatic intensity and shifting textures, creating an atmosphere of tension and anxiety. The motifs introduced here return in more expansive form, evolving and developing in the subsequent sections of the piece. A serene and suspended atmosphere emerges in the next episode, gently interrupted by occasional expressive gestures and subtle shifts. This state is followed by passages of vibrant energy, driven by fast, restless motion and a continuing sense of urgency. Gradually the music folds into a slow, suspended space, shaped by harmonic transformations that unfold slowly and steadily toward a contemplative stillness. The epilogue concludes the piece with a symmetrical rhythmic structure and a gradual, stepwise harmonic progression, with a quiet, persistent strain.

Aram Hovhannisyan is one of the leading composers of the Armenian middle generation, whose works are commissioned and performed at prestigious international festivals. Hovhannisyan’s musical thinking is formed within the framework of post-spectral aesthetics. It is distinguished by saturated expressiveness and intensity, with multi-layered combinations of gestures and colors, a combination of dense harmonic structures and monodic elements. In parallel with his creative activity, Aram Hovhannisyan is the artistic director of the "Crossroads" international festival and the “Assonance” ensemble.