On November 9, the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Austria, in partnership with the Embassy of Japan in Austria, held a concert entitled “From Ararat to Fudzijama” (From Ararat sar to Fuji san) at Armenia Center. The concert was part of the Japan-Europe Ensemble Cultural Fusion Tour, as reported the press service of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under the direction of Japanese-Armenian violinist Karen Israelyan, the Ensemble performed its own adaptations of European and Armenian folk and classical music with the accompaniment of traditional Japanese instruments.

Among the attendees of the event were employees of the Japanese Embassy in Austria, Austrian public and cultural figures, several Japanese tourists visiting Austria for the concert and representatives of the Austrian-Armenian community.

In his opening speech at the event, RA Ambassador to Austria Arman Kirakossian touched upon the historical Armenian-Japanese relations, the cultural relations that have been growing dynamically since the reestablishment of Armenia’s independence and the recent interesting cross-cultural projects. Kirakossian also shared the story behind the success of the unique Japanese-Armenian project and talked about the successful concerts that have been held in Yerevan and Tokyo on the sidelines of such projects since 2013.

Afterwards, the visitors of Armenia Center listened to performances of the works of Bach, Komitas, Aram Khachaturian and Japanese composers.