On February 16, principal conductor of the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenia Vahan Martirosyan conducted the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra at the famous Smetana Hall of the Municipal House for the second time. Aram Khachaturian and Krzysztof Penderecki had once conducted the Prague Radio Orchestra as well.

The packed audience warmly received the performances, the first of which was the performance of Tchaikovsky’s Concerto N 1 for the Piano by the orchestra and famous pianist Alexander Gindin, followed by the performances of the Concertos composed by Stravinsky and Scriabin.

After the concert, the orchestra’s artistic director Jan Simon expressed heartfelt words about the Armenian conductor and said the following: “We’re very happy that we were able to perform with Vahan Martirosyan once again. We remember when we performed at the 2013 Anichkov Mai International Music Festival in Ostrava where he did a wonderful job of conducting Khachaturian’s Concerto. Today’s program included the famous works of Tchaikovsky and Stravinsky, but Scriabin’s Promotheus is rarely performed. The last performance was 15 years ago. Everyone saw how the packed audience received the performance. In fact, this was how the performance was during the morning rehearsal. The audience was packed again. We hope Vahan Martirosyan will perform with our symphony orchestra again in a couple of years.”

Vahan Martirosyan was modest and said the concert was a success because of the orchestra. “I think the concert was a success. The orchestra is marvelous. We established very cordial ties. We were looking at each other with smiles and could understand each other in an instant. We only rehearsed three times, and there came a moment when I realized that there was no need to make the musicians suffer. They managed to prepare quickly and made progress during the rehearsals. They can “read” the hands of the conductor. That shows how professional they are. I didn’t have to waste time to explain things to them.”

According to the maestro, the most difficult work was Scriabin’s Promotheus: The Poem of Fire since it is rarely performed. Neither orchestras nor conductors know it well. Stravinsky’s Firebird and Tchaikovsky’s Concerto for the Piano are conducted more, and that’s why both orchestras and conductors know it well.

“The audience in Prague was also very cordial,” the maestro added in closing.

After performances in the Czech Republic, Vahan Martirosyan will perform in Yerevan and will then travel to Japan.