Turkish-Armenian platform paves way for Komitas concert in Istanbul

Turkish and Armenian artists will continue to build bridges between their respective communities when they honor Kutahya-born outstanding Armenian composer Komitas (Soghomon Soghomonyan) when they perform Thursday night in honor of the great composer.

The concert "Respect for Komidas: Songs of This Land," which is being organized in honor of the 140th anniversary of Komidas' birth in the Aegean province of Kutahya, begins at 8:30 pm on Thirsday at Istanbul's Lutfi Kirdar Congress and Exhibition Hall.

The concert marks the latest in a series of events commemorating the great composer and ethnomusicologist, who has already been honored with a number of ceremonies both in Armenia and the diaspora. In Istanbul, the 2010 European Capital of Culture agency supported the Kusan 2010 concert to commemorate Gomidas last month.

During a conference titled "Cultural Genocide" held last April in Armenia in collaboration with the Diaspora Ministry and the Genocide Museum, a speaker said Turkish artists had begun to claim Komidas' music as their own, citing a group of young people from Istanbul and Armenia that had formed the Komidas Platform.

Members of the Komidas Platform, however, merely "want to commemorate Komidas in the land where he was born," said Istanbul University Radio and Television Department student 23-year old Sayat Dagliyan, who heads the group.

The platform was formed to commemorate Gomidas in his homeland with music and hymns; thanks to the group's tireless work, a number of events and concerts were organized throughout the year to commemorate the great ethnomusicologist.

Thursday's concert is being held in collaboration with Anadolu Kultur, the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and Kalan Music and features American piano virtuoso Sahan Arzruni, as well as the Istanbul State Opera and Ballet's Armenian soloists Sevan Sencan, Kevork Tavityan and Ari Edirne. The Bogazici Gosteri Sanatlari Toplulugu, Ask?n Ensemble, Aynur Dogan and Sevval Sam will also be on stage.