SOFYA MELIKYAN, A PIANIST IN PROGRESS

SOFYA MELIKYAN, A PIANIST IN PROGRESS

Armenian News Network / Groong
October 16, 2006
Entertainment Wire

by Sahan Arzruni

NEW YORK, NEW YORK


Sofya Melikyan, a talented and skillful pianist, performed on Sunday,
October 15, at Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall.  A native of
Yerevan, Melikyan moved to Spain as a teenager, studying initially in
Madrid and later in Paris.  She is currently getting her Master's
Degree at the Manhattan School of Music, working with the veteran
piano teacher Solomon Mikowsky. Her performance on Sunday was her
official New York debut.

Sofya Melikyan presented a succinct yet varied program, performing
Haydn and Schumann in the first half; Granados, Dutilleux, Babadjanian
and Rachmaninoff in the second half - all by way of paying tribute to
her various backgrounds.  Melikyan projects a clear and focused tone
and displays an unobrusive technique.  She is at her best when
velocity is called for, an aspect of performance she carries off with
ease and grace.  Her playing also displays a certain finesse and
clarity, as well as a pleasingly sensitive articulation.

Among the most successful performances of Melikyan's concert were
Schumann's Abegg Variations and Dutilleux's Choral with Variations.
Her reading of Schumann's Abegg showed fluidity and elegance, even if
it lacked a certain tension.  The G minor Sonata, however, needed a
feeling of urgency and formal coherence to convey the dual, mutually
opposed elements -- a characteristic in vintage Schumann.

Granados' `Amor y la muerte' would have been more engaging, had there
been greater differentiation in timbral qualities. Babadjanian's
`Capriccio' lacked elasticity; perhaps, it should have been performed
at a slower tempo to allow for greater playfulness. Rachmaninoff's
`Moments musiceaux' are drenched in Russian languor; the B minor is
one of the composer's most soulful utterances. Ms. Melikyan's approach
did not allow for such expressivity, yet she conquered the high-wire
virtuosity of the E minor Moment musical with deftness.

Sofya Melikyan began her recital with Haydn's masterful Variations in
F minor.  As an encore, she played Khachaturian's `Sabre Dance,' in
transcription. A highly promising pianist who has already attained a
respectable level of accomplishment,

Ms. Melikyan needs performing experience, as well as life experience,
to allow her to project her emotions freely and fully.


--
Master pianist Sahan Arzruni enjoys an international carreer, known
also as a composer, ethnomusicologist, producer, teacher, lecturer,
writer, recording artist and broadcasting personality