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Press Releases
Announcing the Release of Pianist Raffi Besalyan’s New Album by GRAMMY® Award-Winning Label Sono Luminus
Internationally-renowned pianist Raffi Besalyan is pleased to announce the release of his new album, The Return, by GRAMMY® Award-winning label Sono Luminus. This pristine recording features selections from Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Preludes and Etudes-Tableaux, the Variations on a Theme of Corelli, and Armenian composer Arno Babajanian’s beautiful miniatures, Prelude, Melody, Elegie and Vagharshapat Dance.
“Thoughts of home dominate much of the music Raffi Besalyan performs here. Rachmaninoff’s ‘B-Minor Prelude’ was inspired by The Return, a painting by Arnold Böcklin, and although it was written before his emigration the work was a constant companion in his exile, a favorite for his own recitals and a reminder of his years in Russia. Similarly, the folk-inspired piano music of Arno Babajanian recalls a distant homeland. Based in Moscow for much of his adult life, Babajanian looked back to his native Armenia in music that mixed the folk idioms of his people with the virtuosic pianism of the Russian school. And now Besalyan, an Armenian pianist based in the United States, brings their music together in a program infused with warm memories, evocations of far off places, and reminders of earlier times.” (Excerpt from the album’s program notes by Gavin Dixon)
The Return is offered as a handsome 2-disc package (Standard Audio CD and PureAudio Blu-Ray with 5.1 & 7.1 surround sound, high resolution stereo and digital copy via mShuttle) and as a digital download at iTunes, Amazon, HDtracks, and more.
The Artist:
Armenian-born American pianist Raffi Besalyan has established an international reputation as a magnetic and passionate performer, dazzling his audiences in North and South America, Europe, Russia, and Asia as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, and chamber musician. He made his formal New York debut in Carnegie Hall after winning the Artists International Competition, and he was subsequently invited to perform at Merkin Concert Hall for the Artists International “Outstanding Alumni-Winners” series. Mr. Besalyan’s appearances have also been applauded in prominent venues such as Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Izumi Hall and Phoenix Hall (Osaka, Japan), and Rachmaninoff Hall and Small Hall (Moscow, Russia). Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised his performances as “jaw-dropping” (Web Music Review, Japan), “superb” (Overture Concerts, Nelson BC, Canada), and “technically brilliant” (New York Concert Review).
“A true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz” (CHOPIN Magazine, Japan), Raffi Besalyan gained recognition in Japan after his highly successful tour in 2001. He visits the country on a yearly basis for concerts and master classes arranged by IMC Music in Tokyo and MAS Management. Articles about Mr. Besalyan have appeared in the CHOPIN Magazine and Asahi, Sankei, Kobe, Nikkei, and Yomiuri newspapers.
In 2012, Raffi Besalyan’s debut solo album, Dance, Drama, Decadence (IMC Music, Japan), received The Record Geijutsu’s prestigious “Jun-Tokusen Award” (Exclusive Recommendation) and numerous rave reviews such as “a master of his art” (The Record Geijutsu Magazine), “a formidable pianist” (American Record Guide), and “a keyboard phenomenon” (Fanfare Magazine).
A native of Yerevan, Armenia, Raffi Besalyan studied at the Tchaikovsky Special Music School for Gifted Children. He holds a doctorate from Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia, as well as degrees from Rowan University in New Jersey and the Manhattan School of Music in New York. A former faculty member of Rowan University and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Dr. Besalyan joined the faculty at Georgia State University in Atlanta in August 2014 where he is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano Performance.
The Label:
Sono Luminus is an American classical record label that is committed to the creation, support and worldwide promotion of classical music that is of the highest sound quality and performance fidelity. The label provides consumers with high-resolution stereo and surround mixes by releasing new projects on both standard CD and Pure Audio Blu-Ray formats.
Sono Luminus has had the honor of receiving 21 GRAMMY® nominations over the past seven years, as well as a GRAMMY® award for Best Engineered Classical Album in 2009 and a Latin GRAMMY® award for Best Classical Album in 2012. Two years ago, Sono Luminus garnered a total of seven nominations, and just last year the label was nominated once again in the category of Best Surround Sound Album.
For more information, please visit www.sonoluminusstudios.com. For information about Raffi Besalyan, his upcoming performances and master classes, recording projects, interviews, reviews, and more, please visit www.raffibesalyan.com. Video clips of his performances can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/TAOmusicarts. For booking information, contact Tina Doerr, Manager, at tinadoerr@solarus.net or 715-479-6414.
“Thoughts of home dominate much of the music Raffi Besalyan performs here. Rachmaninoff’s ‘B-Minor Prelude’ was inspired by The Return, a painting by Arnold Böcklin, and although it was written before his emigration the work was a constant companion in his exile, a favorite for his own recitals and a reminder of his years in Russia. Similarly, the folk-inspired piano music of Arno Babajanian recalls a distant homeland. Based in Moscow for much of his adult life, Babajanian looked back to his native Armenia in music that mixed the folk idioms of his people with the virtuosic pianism of the Russian school. And now Besalyan, an Armenian pianist based in the United States, brings their music together in a program infused with warm memories, evocations of far off places, and reminders of earlier times.” (Excerpt from the album’s program notes by Gavin Dixon)
The Return is offered as a handsome 2-disc package (Standard Audio CD and PureAudio Blu-Ray with 5.1 & 7.1 surround sound, high resolution stereo and digital copy via mShuttle) and as a digital download at iTunes, Amazon, HDtracks, and more.
The Artist:
Armenian-born American pianist Raffi Besalyan has established an international reputation as a magnetic and passionate performer, dazzling his audiences in North and South America, Europe, Russia, and Asia as a recitalist, orchestral soloist, and chamber musician. He made his formal New York debut in Carnegie Hall after winning the Artists International Competition, and he was subsequently invited to perform at Merkin Concert Hall for the Artists International “Outstanding Alumni-Winners” series. Mr. Besalyan’s appearances have also been applauded in prominent venues such as Kennedy Center (Washington D.C.), Orchestra Hall (Chicago), Izumi Hall and Phoenix Hall (Osaka, Japan), and Rachmaninoff Hall and Small Hall (Moscow, Russia). Critics on both sides of the Atlantic have praised his performances as “jaw-dropping” (Web Music Review, Japan), “superb” (Overture Concerts, Nelson BC, Canada), and “technically brilliant” (New York Concert Review).
“A true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz” (CHOPIN Magazine, Japan), Raffi Besalyan gained recognition in Japan after his highly successful tour in 2001. He visits the country on a yearly basis for concerts and master classes arranged by IMC Music in Tokyo and MAS Management. Articles about Mr. Besalyan have appeared in the CHOPIN Magazine and Asahi, Sankei, Kobe, Nikkei, and Yomiuri newspapers.
In 2012, Raffi Besalyan’s debut solo album, Dance, Drama, Decadence (IMC Music, Japan), received The Record Geijutsu’s prestigious “Jun-Tokusen Award” (Exclusive Recommendation) and numerous rave reviews such as “a master of his art” (The Record Geijutsu Magazine), “a formidable pianist” (American Record Guide), and “a keyboard phenomenon” (Fanfare Magazine).
A native of Yerevan, Armenia, Raffi Besalyan studied at the Tchaikovsky Special Music School for Gifted Children. He holds a doctorate from Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia, as well as degrees from Rowan University in New Jersey and the Manhattan School of Music in New York. A former faculty member of Rowan University and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Dr. Besalyan joined the faculty at Georgia State University in Atlanta in August 2014 where he is currently an Assistant Professor of Piano Performance.
The Label:
Sono Luminus is an American classical record label that is committed to the creation, support and worldwide promotion of classical music that is of the highest sound quality and performance fidelity. The label provides consumers with high-resolution stereo and surround mixes by releasing new projects on both standard CD and Pure Audio Blu-Ray formats.
Sono Luminus has had the honor of receiving 21 GRAMMY® nominations over the past seven years, as well as a GRAMMY® award for Best Engineered Classical Album in 2009 and a Latin GRAMMY® award for Best Classical Album in 2012. Two years ago, Sono Luminus garnered a total of seven nominations, and just last year the label was nominated once again in the category of Best Surround Sound Album.
For more information, please visit www.sonoluminusstudios.com. For information about Raffi Besalyan, his upcoming performances and master classes, recording projects, interviews, reviews, and more, please visit www.raffibesalyan.com. Video clips of his performances can be seen at www.youtube.com/user/TAOmusicarts. For booking information, contact Tina Doerr, Manager, at tinadoerr@solarus.net or 715-479-6414.
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