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The name of a famous Kanon < Armenian national string instrument > player Hasmik Leyloyan is already known to a wide range of audience. She deserves the love and respect of admirers of the Armenian folk music. Today the well-experienced artist is considered a “Lady” of this traditional instrument, which came down to us from the V century. She perfectly possesses both the masterly and expressive techniques of the instrument, and demonstrates a unique performance of both national and classical difficult compositions.
She was born in Yerevan. She within 2 years completed the five-year course of the Armen Tigranyan School of Music. After that she studied in the Romanos Melikyan College of Music. In 1981 she graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. She was the 1st graduate student in the class of Prof. Khachatur Avetisyan (under supervision of the Chair of National Instruments). Having graduated from the Conservatory, she began working at the Chair of National Instruments of the same institution as an instructor. Ms. Leyloyan developed the learning tradition of her teachers and became their worthy deciple. Having graduated from the college, she undertook a wide range of concert and teaching activity since 1970ies. For many years she has been a soloist of the Armenian State Symphony, and then of the Symphony and Pop Orchestra of the Armenian Radio.
She performed with different orchestras (the Orchestra of Yerevan National Opera House after Al. Spendiaryan, Symphonic Orchestras of Montreal, Toronto, and Beirut, National Instruments Orchestra after Osipov of Moscow State Symphony). She co-worked with various musicians: Ara Gevorgyan, Karen Durgaryan, Yervand Yerznkyan, Nikolay Kalinin, Ara Ghazaryan and others. In 1974 for the first time a grand concert of soloists took place in the history of the instrument; the concert was initiated by H. Leyloyan. During the concert she presented the improvisations and instrumentations of a number of difficult classical pieces, which the Kanon players had not played before, and drew attention of the audience on wide range abilities of Kanon.
The gifted Kanon player composed a text-book on Kanon techniques, and compiled a number of collections on musical training and methods. Ms. Leyloyan’s instrumentations and improvisations are included in repertoires of many Kanon players. She created beautiful compositions, and replaced the part of piano with the one of Kanon in many works, using base and chord accompaniment (consisting of 6-7 sounds), based on her innovations, which are included in her own book “Gammas, Arpeggios, Exercises, and Etudes for Kanon”. She orchestrated various works for the ensemble of Kanon players, where she applied the same methods.
Prof. Leyloyan of the Komitas Conservatory gave concerts in more than 35 countries of the world – France, Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Canada, Poland, Hungary, Argentina, several Arabic and African countries, CIS republics, etc.
The works included in the book have been presented since 1970ies by skillful and original performance of H. Leyloyan. She has many Radio and TV audio tapes, as well as several laser discs. Her individual disk “Zartonk” was recorded in 2003; the tapes in a new way present the art of a master solo player Hasmik Leyloyan -- once more demonstrating her bright individuality, striking qualities of virtuoso, and continuous search for different forms of creative self-expression.
Nova Voskanyan
Musical critic
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