Anthony Tommasini
This month Carnegie Hall had to set up five rows of stage seats to meet the demand for the Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin’s much-anticipated solo recital.
So it was unusual to see empty seats in the hall for his appearance on
Tuesday night. But this was an unusual and intensely meaningful
occasion.
Mr. Kissin took part in “With You, Armenia: A Concert to Commemorate the Centennial of the Armenian Genocide.” Sponsored by the Yerevan Perspectives International Music Festival, the event was part of an international tour featuring the impressive Hover State Chamber Choir,
founded by Sona Hovhannisyan, who conducted the impressive 25-voice
ensemble in the rewarding first half of the program. There were
arrangements of Armenian folk songs and liturgical works, several
contemporary selections, a Britten carol and the world premiere of a
choral setting of Psalm 3 by the Polish composer Krzysztof Penderecki
composed in remembrance of the genocide.
