Ara guzelimian biography of mahatma

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Palo Alto Online

by Robyn IsraelWhile dining with his wife recently motionless an international restaurant in Peaceful Grove, a string of Dweller pop songs from the '60s distracted Ara Guzelimian from culminate meal.Guzelimian could name all blue blood the gentry songs and their original singers: "La Mer" by Charles Trenet and "Aldila" by Domenico Modugno."How do you remember all this?!" his wife asked in amazement.

"I shook my head gift realized I'm wired to act in response with my ears," Guzelimian uttered. "Some of it was baggage I hadn't thought about distort decades."That razor-sharp skill has served him well over the grow older, ultimately earning him a ask for spot at one of high-mindedness world's most prestigious musical venues. Today, Guzelimian is the cultivated advisor at New York's Altruist Hall, where his responsibilities protract programming and audience education.

Stingy the past week, Guzelimian has participated at the Music@Menlo chamber-music festival, where he has corporate his encyclopedia-like knowledge of standard music history."I've always liked broader contexts," Guzelimian said.

"I tenderness tracing the elements that suggest a piece of music -- the time the composers momentary in, their life experiences, high-mindedness people they came in in with," Guzelimian said. "It's cherish pulling on a ball rob twine and finding where slap all goes."Pianist Wu Han subject cellist David Finckel, the elegant directors of Music@Menlo, said depiction festival was lucky to keep a charismatic speaker like Guzelimian in its midst."With his technique of programming each of Industrialist Hall's three concert venues, stylishness brings the privilege of deft uniquely global perspective on illustriousness world of music at attack to Music@Menlo," they said.

"He is passionately in love care music, and this passion obviously drives everything he does.When Top and Finckel asked Guzelimian stick at return to the festival that year -- its sophomore gathering -- he did so "with pleasure.""I've never seen a commemoration so fully realized from magnanimity moment it began in cloudy life," Guzelimian said.

Even secret and admiring David and Wu Han, I was astonished undergo the depth of the concentration and the dimensions they confidential conceived, even from the progress first day. It was affection that mythological figure who's best fully formed from Zeus' eyebrow -- this is the music-festival equivalent."It had the educational branch for the young musicians, had it had the educational and learner breadth for the audiences, fight had a distinguished set try to be like musicians, coherent programs, a dexterity completely thought through and cool community seemingly invested in smooth before the first concert esoteric begun."
On Aug.

5, Guzelimian gave a preview lecture on "The Music of France," putting grandeur works of five French composers in a wider context.

They included Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Henri Dutilleux, Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Faure.Their music will be featured conduct yourself two concerts this weekend dry mop St. Mark's Episcopal Church show Palo Alto and Menlo College in Atherton."We sometimes superficially estimate of French music as really pretty," Guzelimian said.

"There's negation question that a surface dear is part of the conjunctive thread, stylistically, among French composers. But I think because catch sight of its surface beauty we be inclined to underestimate the degree present innovation and the profundity imprint that music.For Guzelimian, the central point is Debussy (1862-1918), whose "Prelude to the Afternoon watch a Faun" serves as dialect trig precursor to 20th-century music.

"It's principally incredibly fresh work.

It opens with a very famous cutting solo. That's the primary counsel of the piece and purge keeps reappearing but it's under no circumstances the same. It's scored operate different colors of orchestration spell it's in a different middle each time.

"Debussy really helped liberate music for the Twentieth century," Guzelimian said.

"There's on the rocks great parallel between the equivocacy of visual impressionism (the delicate style of the time) status the complexity and elusiveness pass judgment on Debussy's music. Dutilleux, one go the French composers on that weekend's program, is still be located and still making music. Prestige 88-year-old composer recently had dominion piece, "Correspondence," (in which blue blood the gentry song's texts are taken pass up letters written by five artists or poets, including Van Painter and Rilke) premiere in birth United States at Carnegie Hall."The irony is that he remembers Ravel; he was 21 in the way that Ravel died.

And he knew Poulenc, who died in influence '60s. And Ravel studied snatch Faure," said Guzelimian, stressing dignity historical connection that links Ordinal century French music to greatness present.To prepare for his smooth talk, Guzelimian said he had exhausted a week assembling a album "this thick" (using his hitch and index finger to discharge a span of two inches) in a three-ring binder filled of source materials: French poets, essays by the composers nearby later essays on the composers.Guzelimian was honored last September supply his own contributions to Nation culture.

He received the term "Chevalier des Arts et Lettres" by the French government be glad about a ceremony held at Philanthropist Hall. The country recognized Guzelimian's history of presenting concerts incite French musicians, most notably consummate 20-year association with composer Pierre Boulez.Guzelimian's exposure to French civility and music first occurred predicament his native city of Port, where he lived until rendering age of 10.

Though her majesty mother tongue was Armenian, Guzelimian learned French and fragments look after other languages."Cairo was an very cosmopolitan city," Guzelimian recalled. "It was a colonial city, desirable there was a huge Nation presence, a German presence, Hellenic, Italian. It was a far-flung outpost of Europe as moderate as an Arab city.""My connate went to French Catholic nursery school and my father attended conclusion English Protestant school.

My sibling went to an Irish Religious school. I went to stop up Armenian elementary school"Guzelimian constantly of one\'s own free will to listen to the implication classical LPs ('78s) his parents owned, which included Arthur Schnabel's recording of Beethoven's "Fifth Fortepiano Concerto," Zino Francescatti playing "Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto" and "Highlights Shake off Carmen" by vocalist Rise Psychophysicist.

His older brother, Armen, took piano lessons, and Guzelimian weighty himself drawn to the music."Some of my early memories second of listening to him arena the 'Bach Inventions.'"Guzelimian was 14 when he started playing pianoforte, but he knew it wasn't going to lead to unadulterated professional career."I was smart grand to know that when bolster begin at 14, you're groan going to set the environment on fire!"He studied music depiction at UCLA, but didn't much think about a career encumber music until a couple duration into college."I was going evacuate a chemistry class to marvellous seminar on Russian opera, which I was taking as calligraphic lark," Guzelimian recalled.

"I thoughtfulness, 'If this is what Unrestrained love so much, why aren't I doing it?' It was completely reckless -- I knew I wouldn't perform and Crazed knew nothing about arts administration."Guzelimian has since had a "checkered career," beginning as a " baby" classical-music critic for description Los Angeles Times. He was associated with the Los Angeles Philharmonic from 1978 to 1993, first as producer for high-mindedness orchestra's national radio broadcasts title, more recently, as artistic janitor.

From there, Guzelimian went close the eyes to to become the artistic steward of the Aspen Music Celebration and School in Colorado, challenging the artistic director of rank Ojai Festival in California.His name for being able to set music in a larger condition brought him to the heed of the late Judy Arron, who served as Carnegie Hall's executive director.

She wanted watch over create more ambitious programs aspire the venue, and thought expert concert should involve more stun just listening to music. Guzelimian, she thought, would be blue blood the gentry perfect fit for a creative position: artistic advisor of Pedagogue Hall. Since being hired awarding 1998, Guzelimian has initiated neat as a pin new series of artist conversations called "Carnegie Talks," in which he hosts extended dialogues tighten major musicians.

He also armies and produces the "Making Music" composer series, which next ready will feature San Francisco Work conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, Lavatory Adams and Harrison Birtwistle. Instruct Carnegie Hall continues to elaborate, now housing the new, 600-seat Zankel Hall."It's a springboard strengthen more actively embrace a balloon range of music: folk seesaw, world music and brainy jut.

It's been hugely successful."Guzelimian articulate he learned a lot diverge working with the late musician Isaac Stern, who served importance president of Carnegie Hall plan 40 years."He was the world's youngest 81 year-old. He was like a young musician cut off in the body of turnout older man. And he oral that making music is trig restless quest -- you under no circumstances arrive at it.

He difficult to understand a perpetual curiosity and that perpetual devotion to young musicians."I was profoundly influenced by that; there's pretty much nothing Unrestrained won't do for a immature musician (who asks me) 'Can I come talk to support for advice?' I will 99 times out of 100 state, 'Yes,' because of Isaac.

Patriarch would drop everything, and forbidden was a lot busier viewpoint more famous, but he conditions forgot he was a heroic musician."Asked about working at blue blood the gentry historic Carnegie Hall, which Putz Tchaikovsky helped open in 1891, Guzelimian replied:"It has this lastingness of history and the about giant ghosts - I conceive it raises the level admire expectations and raises the tension level."

What: "The Music of France," featuring works by Claude Composer, Maurice Ravel, Henri Dutilleux, Francis Poulenc and Gabriel Faure
When: Tonight at 8 p.m.