Robert Andreasian

They say that for a true musician everything cognizable in the world is musical. The surrounding objects are perceived in musical images, everything is painted in its color. We were convinced of the truth of these words by the Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR, Professor of the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, Robert Andreasian.

A generous and multifaceted musician, he showed his talent in various fields of activity: a pianist, teacher, composer, transcriptionist, and most importantly, one of the founders of the Armenian piano school, which absorbed the achievements of the performing arts of modern times.

He arrived in Yerevan at the age of 26, full of energy and creativity, brilliantly prepared at the Leningrad Conservatory in the class of Professor Leonid Nikolayev, the founder of the famous pianistic school.

From the very first days of his work at the Yerevan State Conservatory, Robert Andreasian occupied a prominent position among teachers, and during his activity, which lasted a third of a century, he gained high prestige not only in Armenia but also abroad.

The years of childhood and youth in Tiflis (Tbilisi), and then — youth in Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) remained indelible in Robert Andreasian’s memory. The musical community of Tiflis (Tbilisi) enthusiastically accepted him, the pianist’s talent was highly appreciated by prominent musicians, poets, and also the press.

It all started with an open concert at the Tiflis (Tbilisi) Conservatory, where a four-year-old miracle child performed Felix Bartholdy Mendelssohn’s «Venetian Gondola Song» op . 19, which was unusually difficult for his age. After listening to the performance of 12-year-old Robert, the famous German pianist Egon Petri called him «highly gifted» and offered to come to study with him in Berlin. On the title page of his quatrains given to the young pianist, the great Armenian poet Hovhannes Tumanyan wrote: «To Our Divine Robert». A stormy reaction was caused by the graduation concert of the seventeen-year-old musician, then still a student of Professor L. Truskovsky, held in the crowded hall of the Tbilisi Conservatory.

The first stage, as we noted, is connected with the name of the young musician.
At that time, the Yerevan State Conservatory did not have among its teachers a musician of such bright talent and large scale, who mastered his art as masterfully as Robert Andreasian.

They also talked about his incredible pianistic abilities. Here is what his former student recalls: “Somehow Professor Robert Andreasian and I went into the library of Conservatory to look for notes. Here he saw the unfamiliar Capriccio in G major, Hob.XVII:1 by Joseph Haydn. Having played this piece once, he memorized every detail, and at the next lesson, he played it to me completely freely by heart. It was also surprising that sitting far from the student, not seeing his hands, he could unmistakably determine by ear the inaccuracy in his fingering. I was surprised not only by his talent for sight reading but also by his musical

memory.»

An episode from his student period described by Robert Andreasian testifies to his brilliant musical memory. Robert Andreasian in a letter to his father: “In the first lesson I played Robert Schumann’s Symphonic Studies, Op. 13. After listening, Natalya Poznyakovskaya asked in surprise how old I was (Andreasian always looked younger than his age — Shushanik Apoyan). After asking a few more questions, in the end, she asked: “What would you like to play?”. I blurted out without hesitation: Franz Liszt’s «Réminiscences de Don Juan», S.418. Five days later I bring «Réminiscences de Don Juan» to class by heart. Natalya Poznyakovskaya was surprised to a certain extent, somewhere she didn’t even believe me and asked to play Bach-Busoni’s «Toccata, Adagio and Fugue», BWV 564, while warning: “You know, learning Bach by heart is especially difficult.” Five days later I go to class again, I carry not only 23 pages of Bach-Busoni by heart but also Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 in C-sharp minor, S.244/2. Natalya Nikolaevna was amazed to such an extent that she shared her “discovery” with her colleagues, professors of the Conservatory Samariy Savshinsky and Kristofor Kushnarev».

For the first time, students and graduates performed such masterpieces as Ludwig van Beethoven’s late sonatas; Frédéric Chopin’s Bolero, Op.19, Berceuse, Op. 57, Polonaise in F-sharp minor, Op. 44 and piano sonatas; Franz Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz No. 1, S. 514 and the Piano Sonata in B (H) minor, S.178, Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G-major, and other works.

A special focus in his pedagogy was the work on polyphony, where Robert Andreasian was very reminiscent of a choirmaster. In those years, he was even compared with the outstanding Armenian master of choral singing Aram Ter-Hovhannisyan: the same strict discipline, scrupulous work on individual voices, the same academicism in the high sense of the word.

Numerous musicians — concert performers, experienced teachers, excellent accompanists, and ensemble players — were brought up by Robert Andreasian. His pride is the People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR, laureate of three international competitions, and professor Yuri Hayrapetyan, whom he taught from childhood and brought to the conservatory level. Then Yuri Hayrapetyan completed his conservatory education and postgraduate studies in Moscow in the class of Professor Yakov Flier.

A significant contribution to the development of national piano art was made by many other students of Robert Andreasian. Among them are one of the best students, an experienced teacher, Professor Yelena Abajyan, laureate of the international competition Marina Abrahamyan, Professors Anahit Bogdanyan, Sergey Kechek, Alda Zakaryan, G. Kuzanov, Honored Artist of Armenian SSR, laureate of the Transcaucasian competition Vahe Aharonian, Honored Artist of Armenian SSR K.Kh. Topchyan, Yu.G. Arakelyan, I.M. Tsaturyan, and other honored teachers and professors of music schools: Tereza
Melik-Karamyan, Margarita Chakhmakhsazyan, Elza Tandilyan, A. Muradyan, A. Asatryan,
T.R. Zaryan and many others.

From Robert Andreasian’s school to the «grandchildren» of the pianist, one can list the winners of the Transcaucasian Competition Lilit Karapetyan, Georgy Kasabyan, and Sedrak

Yerkanyan. Let us name here the name of the pupil Anahit Bogdanyan, laureate of nine international competitions in European countries and the USA — Armen Babakhanyan.

Since childhood, Robert Andreasian dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. In his young years, he was predicted a brilliant career as a performer. But fate judged otherwise, and Andreasian directed all his strength, all his talent not to the sphere of artistic activity, but to the field of piano pedagogy.

During the years of study at the Tiflis (Tbilisi), and then the Leningrad (Saint Petersburg) Conservatories, he performed a lot in public in Moscow, Leningrad (Saint Petersburg), Tbilisi (Tbilisi), Yerevan, in the cities of the Urals and Siberia, and everywhere he was accompanied by great success.

The situation changed dramatically after moving to Armenia. Concerts became more and more rare because his creative forces were entirely devoted to intense pedagogical work. And in his Yerevan years, performing with a symphony orchestra, as part of a piano trio on radio and television, as well as at department meetings, just in a class or among friends, he was a great pianist, as they say, «a pianist from birth», «a pianist from God» with delicate noble taste and finished craftsmanship.

Robert Andreasian’s talent manifested itself in yet another area. He was a gifted composer, the author of the Piano Concerto, the poem «Nairi», and piano studies. The wonderful transcriptions of the songs of Komitas and Sayat-Nova, about which Aram Khachaturian wrote: “They were written by a real master,” received little fame.

Robert Andreasian’s activity was highly appreciated by outstanding representatives of the Soviet musical culture. Konstantin Igumnov remembered Andreasian, a student, from his performances in Moscow at the All-Union Olympiads and auditions. He also noted the pedagogical activity of the young musician.

Robert Andreasian’s archive contains reviews by Grigory Ginzburg, Emil Gilels, Yakov Flier, Lev Oborin, and others. Dmitri Shostakovich, being also a wonderful pianist, then wrote: “I know Andreasian as a highly professional musician, an excellent pianist, who is fluent in the instrument.”

Andreasian’s life ended in 1971 in the prime of his creative life.
On the marble tombstone is the inscription: “To Robert Andreasian from grateful students».

Andreasian has remained a phenomenon in the Armenian piano culture. A worthy tribute to the memory of Robert Andreasian was the celebration at the Yerevan State Conservatory in October 2001, the 90th anniversary of the birth of a remarkable Armenian musician. In honor of the anniversary, the International Competition for Young Pianists was held, a collection of piano works was released, and a CD was released with performances of works by Chopin, Brahms, Scriabin, Rachmaninoff and his transcriptions of works by Komitas, Sayat-Nova, Romanos Melikian.