{"id":49501,"date":"2017-11-29T21:48:51","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T02:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=49501"},"modified":"2017-11-29T21:48:51","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T02:48:51","slug":"interview-the-hidden-treasure-of-violinist-nune-melik","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2017\/11\/29\/interview-the-hidden-treasure-of-violinist-nune-melik\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Why Everyone&#8217;s Talking About Violinist Nun\u00e9 Melik"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_49502\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-49502\" style=\"width: 1024px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-49502\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian.jpg\" alt=\"Rising young violinist Nun\u00e9 Melik launches her first album: Hidden Treasure (Photo: Jan Osipyan)\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian-768x768.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-49502\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rising young violinist Nun\u00e9 Melik chats about her obsession with Armenian music, the release of her album Hidden Treasure, and the Kickstarter campaign that made it all happen. (Photo: Jan Osipyan)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span class=\"wpsdc-drop-cap\">O<\/span>ver the course of several years of arduous research into Armenian music, violinist Nun\u00e9 Melik releases her first album, <em>Hidden Treasure,\u00a0<\/em>on the Dom Forlane label. The album is a return to her roots for this artist, who wishes to make this music \u2014 still largely unfamiliar in Canada \u2014 better known.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s like a hidden treasure that I wanted to uncover,&#8221; said Melik.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Siberia to parents of multiple heritage (Armenian, Georgian and Jewish), Melik&#8217;s first connection with music goes back to when she was four-years-old, accompanying her older sister to piano lessons.\u00a0She recalled being impressed with her mother, who was not a professional teacher, but a nonetheless a good mentor.<\/p>\n<p>Nun\u00e9 Melik studied at the Moscow Conservatory, before being invited, in 2009, to join the Faculty of Music at the l\u2019Universit\u00e9 de Montr\u00e9al. \u00a0There she completed a Masters in performance, going on to pursue a doctorate at McGill University where she is now continuing her research into Armenian music. In the meantime, the Canada Council for the Arts Musical Instrument Bank awarded her a violin by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi, dating from 1750, for her use until 2018. The instrument accompanied her to Carnegie Hall for her debut there last year.<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qWiTvpHUYR8?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<p>Feeling nostalgic for home since her arrival in Canada, she has immersed herself in a musical universe that recalls her heritage. Here, she discovered a real passion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt made sense for me to make an album of Armenian music, especially as it is what I heard at home as a child,&#8221; she says.<\/p>\n<p>Following a recital with pianist Michel-Alexandre Broekaert at Caf\u00e9 d\u2019art vocal de Montr\u00e9al in late October, Nun\u00e9 Melik emphasized:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;We cannot speak about Armenian music without speaking of the nation as well. It was destroyed in 1915 with the Armenian genocide, when more than half a million people perished. But we continued to make films, to write books, to compose music. &#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The violinist believes that the history of her country is reflected in its art.<\/p>\n<p>Named a Cultural Representative of Canada in 2015 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, she adds:\u00a0&#8220;The Armenian style is more emotional and more grounded in the earth. There is a freedom of form and content.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Contrary to Western European music, the music of the East is distinguished by its unconventionality, she says.<\/p>\n<h3>Discovering the Armenian musical heritage<\/h3>\n<p>This growing passion for Armenian music led to a deepening of her research. The artist launched a crowdfunding campaign on the fundraising platform <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kickstarter.com\/projects\/133666824\/hidden-treasure-classical-armenian-music-violin-cd\" rel=\"noopener\">Kickstarter<\/a> to defray the costs of several trips to Armenia, which allowed her to get a hold of scores that could not be found in Canada. The money raised also helped to finance the production of her album, <em>Hidden Treasure<\/em>, recorded at McGill University as well as at the Yamaha Artist Studio in New York.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI went to the Composers\u2019 Union in Armenia, who gave me access to some scary and very dusty places, searching for little-known sheet music,&#8221; recalls the violinist, who has crossed the Atlantic three times for the project. \u00a0While in Armenia, she was not content with only scores; she also met with many composers.<\/p>\n<p>Each work presented on the album has its own story. The first, <em>Apricot Tree,<\/em> by composer Komitas Vardapet (1869-1935), is a true representation of rural Armenian music. The same composer appears for two other pieces on the album:\u00a0<em>Striding, Beaming<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>Crane<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) was inspired by the music of the Armenian troubadours, though with a more poetic approach.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are numerous references to Ravel, particularly in the texture of the piano,\u201d specifies Melik about the Khachaturian. \u201cI tried to choose repertoire that wasn\u2019t too folk in style. It is both Armenian and International, in a language that everyone can understand.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, it is a piece by the same composer,\u00a0<em>Nun\u00e9\u2019s Variation <\/em>from the\u00a0ballet\u00a0<em>Gayane<\/em>, that attracts attention.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNun\u00e9, you have your own variation!,\u201d joked her University professor. Like the violinist herself, the score is rhythmic and energetic.<\/p>\n<p>The duo of Michel-Alexandre Broekaert (piano) and Nun\u00e9 Melik will be on a national tour presented by Jeunesse Musicales Canada\u00a0next year. A tour of China is also planned for 2019.<\/p>\n<p>You can catch Nun\u00e9 Melik perform in Toronto on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/event\/yamaha-recital-space-hidden-treasure-nune-melik-michel-alexandre-broekaert\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thursday, Dec 7<\/a> (7:30 pm) at\u00a0The Yamaha Recital Space at Atelier Rosemarie Umetsu.<\/p>\n<p>And she is also performing at an Armenian centre on <a href=\"http:\/\/toronto.carpediem.cd\/events\/5229528-nune-melik-in-concert-at-armenian-youth-centre\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wednesday, Dec. 6.<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><b><i>#LUDWIGVAN<\/i><br \/>\n<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><i>Want more updates on Toronto-centric classical music news and reviews before anyone else finds out? Follow us on\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/LudwigVanToronto\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><i>Facebook<\/i><\/u><\/a><i>\u00a0or\u00a0<\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LudwigVanTO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u><i>Twitter<\/i><\/u><\/a><i>\u00a0for all the latest.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-48756 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/LudwigVan-head-text-looking_right.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"35\" height=\"55\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/LudwigVan-head-text-looking_right.jpg 833w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/LudwigVan-head-text-looking_right-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/LudwigVan-head-text-looking_right-768x1213.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/10\/LudwigVan-head-text-looking_right-648x1024.jpg 648w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 35px) 100vw, 35px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div class=\"abh_box abh_box_down abh_box_business\"><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rising young violinist Nun\u00e9 Melik chats with Ludwig Van about her obsession with Armenian music, the release of her album Hidden Treasure, and the Kickstarter campaign that made it all happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":69,"featured_media":49502,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6439,29,36,63,68],"tags":[14332],"yst_prominent_words":[7004,14322,14309,10614,14323,14305,7070,12700,14316,7678,14326,14324,6616,14327,14311,14317,14304,14331,14325,14310],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/11\/Ludwig-Van-NuneMelikian.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-cSp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49501"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/69"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49501"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49501\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49509,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49501\/revisions\/49509"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49501"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49501"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49501"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=49501"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}