‘Absurd’: diplomat and composer David Mnatsakanyan on authorities’ intention to close Yerevan Conservatory

Speaking with Alpha News, Soviet and Russian diplomat and composer David Mnatsakanyan commented on the reaction to his open letter to the Chair of the Union of Composers of Armenia, Aram Satyan, regarding the intention to close the Yerevan Conservatory.

“Today I just had a huge number of calls, not only from Armenia and Russia but also from a number of foreign countries, in particular Sweden, Germany, and other countries. This suggests that there is already a reaction to my open letter; although I wrote this not expecting any reaction, I hoped that it would help my colleagues in Armenia, in particular the Union of Composers of Armenia, to make a decision in this difficult situation,” Mnatsakanyan noted.

He admitted that the situation with the conservatory is personal for him, and he simply could not remain indifferent.

“My whole childhood is connected with this building. My whole childhood is connected with music—not only my childhood, but my whole life is. The fact is that I was born and raised in a musical family. My older brother played the violin, and my middle brother played the cello. None of them became musicians, the only exception being me, although I returned to music at the age of 58 years and 71 days, according to the Russian Book of Records.

But my mother was a famous singer in Armenia. She taught both at the conservatory and at the music school. So this could not but hurt me, because it was actually very painful for me to hear that. It is actually not clear what is happening,” the diplomat said.

Alpha News‘s interlocutor briefly but succinctly characterized the authorities’ desire to close the conservatory and expressed optimism that the intelligentsia of Armenia has reacted to this.

“In my opinion, this is absurd. It is impossible. I believe that the intelligentsia, the musical intelligentsia, have an absolutely appropriate reaction to the events specifically related to the conservatory,” David Mnatsakanyan concluded.