Şahan Arzruni//ⓘ (Armenian: Շահան Արծրունի; born 8 June 1943) is a New York–based Armenian classical pianist, ethnomusicologist, lecturer, composer, writer and producer.[2]
Early life and education
Arzruni (also transliterated as Artsruni), whose family name belongs to an ancient Armenian nobility, was born in Istanbul, Turkey. His father is Stepan Jirayr Arzruni, and mother Maryam Kalpak. Composer Sirvart Kalpakyan Karamanuk is his maternal aunt who encouraged Arzruni to play the piano at the age of four; he appeared publicly at the age of five.[3] He received his general education at Esayan[4] and Getronagan[5] Armenian Lyceums, and graduated from the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory (now Istanbul University State Conservatory),[6] where he studied piano with Ferdi Statzer and harmony with Raşit Abed.
Motivated by ethnic awareness in the United States, Arzruni continuously investigates the musical roots of his Armenian heritage.[8][9] He researches traditional Armenian music and has recorded a three-disc anthology of Armenian piano music, as well as co-produced an eight-disc set of instrumental and vocal Armenian music. He also delivered papers and organized symposia for such institutions as Harvard University, Columbia University and University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. Şahan Arzruni is the author of books and a contributor of articles for academic journals; he has also written for various editions of The New Grove Dictionary and the Dictionary of the Middle Ages.
A Steinway artist, he was invited to perform on an 1869 Steinway piano at the Metropolitan Museum of Art for the inaugural of the centennial celebrations of the Museum’s collection of historic instruments.[10] In 2001, Mr. Arzruni delivered a lecture on Armenian liturgical chants at the invitation of the U.S. Library of Congress, in Washington, D.C.[11]
Şahan Arzruni has performed with Victor Borge, playing the role of straight man in Borge's concerts starting with the late 1960s, and appeared with Borge at the 1980 Royal Variety Show Command Performance where the pair performed Borge's classic comedic arrangement for duet piano of Liszt's Second Hungarian Rhapsody.[12][13]
Arzruni appeared in television and radio broadcasts, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show and a number of PBS specials and has recorded for European radio networks, including the BBC. Arzruni has given command performances at the White House, as well as the British, Danish, Swedish, and Icelandic courts. In 2008, he was awarded "Honorary Professorship" from Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory in Armenia. In 2015, Şahan Arzruni was awarded the Presidential Movses Khorenatsi medal, the Republic of Armenia's highest cultural award.[14]
In 2017, 2019, and again in 2022 and 2024, Arzruni visited various provinces of Armenia, as well as the Republic of Artsakh, coaching young musicians and performing in recitals. While on the road, he stopped over in ancient, remote monasteries, exploring and photographing the sites. This documentation has served as the basis of a series of articles in Paros monthly, published in Istanbul.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Şahan Arzruni curated a series of mini-concerts online, "Together for Armenia," to help Armenia financially.[15][16]
A Survey of Armenian Music / 8 LPs – Co-producer (1987, Positively Armenian)
Komitas: A Centenary Album / 2 LPs – Artistic Director (1970, Komitas Centennial Committee)
Writings
Քրիստափոր Կարա-Մուրզայի կեանքը կը վերածուի լաւ պատմուած զրոյցի [The life of Kristapor Kara-Murza evolves into an effective story]. Istanbul: Jamanak, 2014-06-14, p 3 (Armenian).
Dubal, David (1993). Remembering Horowitz. New York, NY: Schirmer Books. pp. 66–68. ISBN0028706765.
^Avakian, Florence (22 September 2013). "Noted Pianist Sahan Arzruni to Perform in New York October 20". No. 276. South Orange, New Jersey, USA: Armenian Interests. pp. 11–12.
^"Շահան Արծրունի ներկայիս կը պատրաստէ նոր ձայնագրութիւն մը (Şahan Arzruni is preparing a New Recording)" (in Armenian). No. 10332. Istanbul. Jamanak. 28 January 2014. pp. 1, 4.
^Page, Tim (September 26, 1983). "Concert: Arzruni at Museum". The New York Times. p. C10. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
