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

• I Will Not Be Sad in This World (All Saints Records, 1989)
• Moon Shines at Night (All Saints Records)
• Ask Me No Questions (Traditional Crossroads 4268, 1996)
• Apricots From Eden (Traditional Crossroads 4276, 1996)
• The Crow, soundtrack
• Black Rock, with Michael Brook (Realworld 46230, 1998)
• Djivan Gasparyan Quartet (Libra Music 1998)
• The Siege, soundtrack (1998)
• Eden Roc (Ludovico Einaudi, 1999)
• Heavenly Duduk (Network 1999)
• Dead Bees On A Cake, David Sylvian; (Gasparyan appears on the track 'Darkest Dreaming')
• Cosmopoly, as guest of Andreas Vollenweider (EDEL Records, SLG Records (USA/Canada)
• Armenian Fantasies (Network 34801, 2000)
• Gladiator: More Music From the Motion Picture, soundtrack
• Free Fall, Jesse Cook (Narada, 2000) (Gaspayran appears on the track "Incantation")
• Fuad, with Erkan Ogur (Traditional Turkish & Armenian songs) (2001)
• Blood of the Snake, Derek Sherinian (2006) (Gaspayran appears on the track "Prelude To Battle")
• RockPaperScissors, Michael Brook (EQR 0006, 2006)(Gaspayran appears on track "Pasadena part two")
• Pangea with Lian Ensemble (Houman Pourmehdi & Piraye Pourafar), Swapan Chaudhuri and Miroslav Tadić (Lian Records 118, 2006)
• The Soul of Armenia (Network Medien’s double-CD package 2008)
• Penumbra, with Michael Brook (Canadian Rational/bigHelium, 2008)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Djivan Gasparyan.

• Djivan Gasparyan at AllMusic