Djivan Gasparyan

Djivan Gasparyan

Djivan Gasparyan in 2009
Background information
Born (1928-10-12) October 12, 1928
Solak, Armenia
Genres Armenian folk
Occupation(s) composer, score composer, musician
Instruments duduk
Years active 1948–present
Labels All Saints Records, SLG Records
Associated acts Derek Sherinian, Hans Zimmer, Peter Gabriel, Roman Miroshnichenko, Hossein Alizadeh
Notable instruments
Duduk

Djivan Gasparyan (var. Jivan Gasparyan;[1] Armenian: Ջիվան Գասպարյան, Armenian pronunciation: [dʒiˈvɑn ɡɑspɑɾˈjɑn]; born October 12, 1928[1][2]) is an Armenian musician and composer. He plays the duduk, a double reed woodwind instrument related to the orchestral oboe. Gasparyan is known as the "Master of the duduk".[3][4][5]

Biography

Born in Solak, Armenia to parents from Mush, Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six. In 1948 he became a soloist of the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philarmonic Orchestra. He has won four medals at UNESCO worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980). In 1973 Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People's Artist of Armenia[6] and in 2002, he received the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. A professor at the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory, he has instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.

He has toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music. He has collaborated with many artists, such as Hossein Alizadeh, Sting, Erkan Ogur, Michael Brook, Peter Gabriel, Brian May, Lionel Richie, Derek Sherinian, Ludovico Einaudi, Boris Grebenshchikov, David Sylvian, Hans Zimmer and Andreas Vollenweider.

Djivan Gasparyan and Hossein Alizadeh were jointly nominated for a 2007 Grammy Award for their 2006 collaboration album Endless Vision (an album featuring a trilingual arrangement and recording of Sari Galin).

Gasparyan played as part of the Armenian entry "Apricot Stone" by Eva Rivas at the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest in Oslo and became the oldest ever person to feature in a Eurovision Song Contest performance,[7] but was not officially listed as a guest artist.

Discography

References

  1. 1 2 "Biography". Jivan Gasparyan Official Website. Retrieved 2011-08-22.
  2. allmusic gives birth year as 1928.
  3. On the Track: A Guide to Contemporary Film Scoring - Page 87 by Fred Karlin, Rayburn Wright
  4. World Music: The Rough Guide - Page 334 by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham, Richard Trillo
  5. Djivan Gasparyan at MSN music
  6. Biography at AllMusic
  7. Armenian apricot stone becomes a tree at eurovision.tv

External links

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