The guest of “Hayern Aysor” is the composer Edward Manukyan. 

How did you set out on your chosen musical path?

Before I got to music, I went through a number of other interests. I turned my attention to music while already in high school, studying more seriously only after twenty. I played the piano first, then I took up a few other instruments. Nowadays I only compose.

What role did your parents play in your choosing a profession?

They never pressed me one way or the other. They weren’t particularly excited about my decision to become a musician. I started out late and they were understandably skeptical, but they were supportive, nonetheless, and continue to be supportive till this day.

Were there any musicians in the family?

I have two uncles who are musicians. My grandfather was a lecturer but they say he had a great voice as well. Unfortunately, he died too early and I never got to know him well enough. It is obvious there is music in our genes and it shows up in generations, here and there.

What other inclinations did you have before turning to turning to music?

I was completely taken by sciences, particularly physics and chemistry. I was very fond of reading, too, and a great fan of Armenian and international classics. I would split my days between reading and making various science-related experiments. Once I created a microphone using coal and some aluminum foil, and used it to make an intercom connection with a friend of mine who lived on the first floor of our apartment building (we lived on the fifth). Months later, I got my hands on a real microphone and, taking it apart, I realized that it had almost the same technology. Those were the dark and cold years of the 90s’ and electricity was on and off, and I kept busy trying to find ways to generate electricity when lights were out. I was able to provide a few hours of supply, but, fortunately, those years went by fast and I had plenty of time to turn my attention to humanities as well.

As far as I know, you used to play jazz but switched to classical music after settling in the United States? Can you tell us about the feelings beyond that change of style?

The great jazz musicians of America were my heroes. My decision to move to the United States was probably influenced by my love for their music. The switch to classical music was very dramatic and it is worth recalling it in some detail.

So, it was 2003, and I lived in the Lake Balboa community of Los Angeles. One day I was reading a biographical book on the legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans and I suddenly came across a page where it said that Bill Evans had been influenced by the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian’s music and he had even introduced it to Miles Davis and others. This was a very interesting revelation for me. All I knew about Khachaturian was that he was the composer of the famous “Sabre Dance” and the “Waltz” which was aired on Armenian Public TV every New Year’s Eve. Nothing more than that. I remember like yesterday how I put the book aside, unfinished, and headed out for the nearest CD shop. I asked for all the Khachaturian CD’s and came home with about five of them. I remember how uneasy I felt in my heart on the way home. I had a gut feeling that it was going to be the day which would change my life forever. And that is what happened. I sat down at a table with headphones on and played the first piece. They were selections from ballet Spartacus. The melodies, the colors, the pathos in the music! I will never forget the intensity of the feelings it aroused in me. It almost felt like I left my ownbody toindulge in a universe of infinite pleasure. There is no other way to describe the beauty that opened up for me that day. Khachaturian’s music became the world I lived in. The Evans biography has been left unfinished to this day, and I simply quit jazz and took the winding but fascinating path into Armenian classical music.

Many years have passed since then. I have drawn influences from countless other composers, but Khachaturian and his world of sounds will always be of special significance to me.

What an interesting and beautiful story! Armenian sounds are indeed prevalent in your works. I am sure you’ve been influenced by folk music as well.

I adore folk music. I have studied countless folk songs, note by note. The design and the structure that work as the basis of these songs are an essential part of my musical vocabulary. My musical thoughts simply come with a breath of an Armenian song. Even if my larger themes are completely diverse, the building blocks of Armenian folklore are always present.

These days Armenians from all over the world have been gathering around a unifying cause. Do you have any projects concerning the genocide anniversary?

I just finished a composition about the Armenian Genocide. It is a requiem-like piece for chorus, two pianos and percussion. The words are two short sentences only, taken from the memoir of HagopArsenian, a survivor of the genocide. It talks about an Armenian man who, in a suffocating voice, begs a gravedigger not to pull him by his legs, saying, “Brother, I have not died yet. Wait till morning before you bury me.” These words pour into the readers’ heads like melted lead. I don’t know if one can imagine a greater tragedy than the fact that one human being ever had to say those words to another human being.

I think this is one of the most successful compositions I have written. Unfortunately, I did not finish it soon enough for it to be performed this month. It will get premiered soon, probably still this year.

You did chose horrifying words, indeed. Because of those massacres, millions of Armenians live away from their homeland today. Now, to what extent do Armenians around the world manage to keep the Armenian culture thriving?

I can, of course, only speak about the United States. Compared to other nationals, Armenians assimilate relatively quickly there. You’ll find them with no affinityto their heritage as early as in their second generation. This can primarily be explained by the fact that racial as well as cultural differences between Armenians and Americans of European origin are not as striking as they are in the case of those who immigrated from Latin-America, for example. Their smooth assimilation might be a good thing considering that it helps them realize their potential and find wider acceptance in the new society. But unfortunately, within just a few generations, all traces of their culturedisappear. They say one or two Armenian words, a few nice things about Armenia and that is it. For Armenian culture to thrive, there needs to be a free, prospering and forward-looking Armenia.

Earlier you mentioned how you were so enthusiastic about scienceas a child. However, having chosen an entirely different path, I wonder if you still stay connected to science somehow? Do your teenage dreams not call you back?

I keep up with scientific progress with great interest. Nothing is more interesting than to watch how foreseeablysome of the early developments, still in research stage, eventually grow to introduce things that become part of our daily life. Great advances in science are often the source of the inspiration beyond many of my works. I have been dedicating one or two pieces a year to some scientific theme for quite a few years now.

We know about your collaboration with great scientists, several Nobel-prize laureates among them. Will you talk a little about that?

Sure. I’ve had the privilege to get to know some eminent scientists. The contact with biologist James Watson, physicist Steven Weinberg, and linguist Noam Chomsky has been especially delightful. I have written a large-scale work to Chomsky’s words called “A World Without War.” After more than a couple of years’ work, it is now ready to be published. It is very important for me to stay in contact with scientists and conversations are always very interesting with them. I understand their language better.

What do you mean? What language do scientists speak?

A language of facts. A language full of facts and evidence-based ideas. Listen to interviews with great scientists and pay attention to how careful they are expressing their opinions on anything. See how doubtful their minds are. There is a certain indescribable beauty in all this. I think the progress of science is the most beautiful thing accompanying humankind. Science started when an early hominidtook a stick and tried to pick fruit with it, and it continues to advance today at an ever-increasing pace. No significant advance of civilization would be possible if it were not for scientific progress.

For many musicians, love is the greatest inspiration for being creative.

Philosopher Bertrand Russell said that the happy life is inspired by love and guided by knowledge. I think I try to live by this principle too.

Do you consider yourself happy? 

Yes, even though happiness is not so much of a state of mind but a continual, hopeful craving for something. As long as people are healthy and have the yearning for happy life, you could say that they are happy.

You are a United States citizen, but you are in Armenia these days,working and composing. Have you decided to live here permanently?

For as long as it is possible, I will stay in Armenia. The atmosphere is very special to me here. I remember when I had just arrived after ten years of absence, I would attentively listen to people speaking at every turn. Their speech, their natural articulations, the melody of Armenian language sounded as sweet as honey to my ears. I thought I was new, I had not been here for many years, and given enough time, the novelty would soon wear off. Well, that has not happened yet. The sound of Armenian language is like air and water to me. I hope I will never be missing it again, for such a long time.

Interview by Greta Mnatsakanyan