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Press Releases
Pianist Raffi Besalyan Signs with GRAMMY® Award-Winning Record Label Sono Luminus
Renowned Armenian-born pianist Raffi Besalyan is pleased to announce that he has signed with GRAMMY® Award-winning record label Sono Luminus. His new solo album will feature works by Rachmaninoff and Armenian composer Arno Babajanian and will be recorded and produced with the expertise of Audio Engineer Dan Shores and Producer Dan Merceruio at the studio of Sono Luminus in Virginia.
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 all 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.
The Artist:
Hailed as “a true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz” (CHOPIN Magazine, Japan), “one of the most outstanding pianists to emerge from Armenia” and “a master of his art” (The Record Geijutsu Magazine, Japan), “a keyboard phenomenon that needs to be heard by everyone interested in pianists and the piano” (Fanfare Magazine), and “a formidable pianist with a commanding presence and rich interpretive gifts” (American Record Guide), Raffi Besalyan has been unanimously recognized for his exceptional pianism.
Released in 2012 by IMC Music label (Japan), Besalyan’s critically acclaimed debut solo album “Dance, Drama, Decadence” received the prestigious Jun-Tokusen Award (Exclusive Recommendation) from The Record Geijutsu along with rave reviews from Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Record Geijutsu, Mainichi Newspaper, and others. “Dance, Drama, Decadence” includes works by Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Ravel and also includes premiere recordings of colorful folkloristic pieces by Armenian composers Komitas and Baghdassarian. In addition, Mr. Besalyan recorded works by Bach-Busoni for two pianos released in 2008 by Koch International Classics.
Throughout his successful performance career, Raffi Besalyan has toured North and South America, Europe, Russia, and Asia as a recitalist, orchestral soloist and chamber musician. His appearances have been applauded in such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall (New York City), 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 Besalyan’s performances for their virility, poetry and extraordinary technical command:
“The Liszt Mephisto Waltz… was hair raising…Besalyan has many wonderful elements in his playing that cannot be taught.” (New York Concert Review); “Standing ovation and cries of ‘Bravo’ and ‘Encore’ went to pianist Raffi Besalyan… mesmerized the audience with his gracious, delicate yet powerful presentation of Rachmaninoff Concerto No.3” (Armenian Reporter Int’l, New York); “The entire hall was devoured by Besalyan’s glorious touch and crystalline sound…Besalyan was not just playing the piano, he was creating wonderful art, and treated the piano with his love for the music.” (Sotokuan Press, Japan); “Ravel’s LaValse was definitely a jaw-dropping performance of a masterpiece!” (Web Music Reviews, Japan)
In addition to his vast classical repertoire of solos and concertos, Raffi Besalyan is a specialist in Russian piano music and has given recitals and concerto performances in the U.S., Canada, Russia, and Japan focusing on works of Russian composers. A former piano faculty member of Rowan University in New Jersey, Dr. Besalyan is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He holds a doctorate from Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia, as well as degrees from Rowan University and the Manhattan School of Music in New York.
Upcoming engagements include performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto with the Festival Symphony Orchestra Academia Filarmonica Bohemia at Lichtenstejn Palace in Prague (Czech Republic), touring in Japan as a performer and master class clinician (under the management of IMC Music, Tokyo), and concertizing and teaching master classes in the U.S.
For more details, please visit www.raffibesalyan.com and www.youtube.com/user/taomusicarts.
Contact information: Tina Doerr, Manager, tinadoerr@solarus.net; (715) 479-6414 or (715) 346-0004.
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 all 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.
The Artist:
Hailed as “a true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz” (CHOPIN Magazine, Japan), “one of the most outstanding pianists to emerge from Armenia” and “a master of his art” (The Record Geijutsu Magazine, Japan), “a keyboard phenomenon that needs to be heard by everyone interested in pianists and the piano” (Fanfare Magazine), and “a formidable pianist with a commanding presence and rich interpretive gifts” (American Record Guide), Raffi Besalyan has been unanimously recognized for his exceptional pianism.
Released in 2012 by IMC Music label (Japan), Besalyan’s critically acclaimed debut solo album “Dance, Drama, Decadence” received the prestigious Jun-Tokusen Award (Exclusive Recommendation) from The Record Geijutsu along with rave reviews from Fanfare Magazine, American Record Guide, The Record Geijutsu, Mainichi Newspaper, and others. “Dance, Drama, Decadence” includes works by Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Ravel and also includes premiere recordings of colorful folkloristic pieces by Armenian composers Komitas and Baghdassarian. In addition, Mr. Besalyan recorded works by Bach-Busoni for two pianos released in 2008 by Koch International Classics.
Throughout his successful performance career, Raffi Besalyan has toured North and South America, Europe, Russia, and Asia as a recitalist, orchestral soloist and chamber musician. His appearances have been applauded in such prominent venues as Carnegie Hall and Merkin Hall (New York City), 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 Besalyan’s performances for their virility, poetry and extraordinary technical command:
“The Liszt Mephisto Waltz… was hair raising…Besalyan has many wonderful elements in his playing that cannot be taught.” (New York Concert Review); “Standing ovation and cries of ‘Bravo’ and ‘Encore’ went to pianist Raffi Besalyan… mesmerized the audience with his gracious, delicate yet powerful presentation of Rachmaninoff Concerto No.3” (Armenian Reporter Int’l, New York); “The entire hall was devoured by Besalyan’s glorious touch and crystalline sound…Besalyan was not just playing the piano, he was creating wonderful art, and treated the piano with his love for the music.” (Sotokuan Press, Japan); “Ravel’s LaValse was definitely a jaw-dropping performance of a masterpiece!” (Web Music Reviews, Japan)
In addition to his vast classical repertoire of solos and concertos, Raffi Besalyan is a specialist in Russian piano music and has given recitals and concerto performances in the U.S., Canada, Russia, and Japan focusing on works of Russian composers. A former piano faculty member of Rowan University in New Jersey, Dr. Besalyan is currently an Associate Professor of Piano at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He holds a doctorate from Yerevan State Conservatory in Armenia, as well as degrees from Rowan University and the Manhattan School of Music in New York.
Upcoming engagements include performing Rachmaninoff’s Third Concerto with the Festival Symphony Orchestra Academia Filarmonica Bohemia at Lichtenstejn Palace in Prague (Czech Republic), touring in Japan as a performer and master class clinician (under the management of IMC Music, Tokyo), and concertizing and teaching master classes in the U.S.
For more details, please visit www.raffibesalyan.com and www.youtube.com/user/taomusicarts.
Contact information: Tina Doerr, Manager, tinadoerr@solarus.net; (715) 479-6414 or (715) 346-0004.
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