Armenian cellist won gold medal in honest struggle – maestro

Talking to Armenian journalists before the concert the symphonic orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre was to give in Yerevan on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Armenia's independence, the conductor Valery Gergiev congratulated them on the gold medal the Armenian cellist won at the International Tchaikovsky Competition.

"It was my idea to invite Narek [Hakhnazaryan] to this concert. He won the gold medal in a serious competition. The cellists showed the highest-level skill. All the five finalists were worth of gold medals, which is a rare thing," Georgiyev said. All the jury members found it difficult to count the votes, he added.

"Narek won the gold medal in an honest struggle. I think it is a remarkable achievement," the maestro said.