Press
Genuine Descendant of Russian Pianism
Armenian-born pianist Besalyan possesses truly lucid and beautiful sound that reminds you of perfectly matched pearls. It was in the Rachmaninoff group in the first half, where the pianist displayed this quality with tremendous conviction. From the penetrating chords and piercing harmonies in the G minor Prelude Op.23 No.5, the beautiful melody leafed out and floated in the air, pouring out deeply personal inconsolable feelings. The depth of the melody in the bass of the G sharp minor Prelude Op.32 No.12 was admirably contrasted with the brilliance of the arpeggios in the higher register.
The rampant image of Mephisto roaming at will appeared from Besalyan’s tenacious and unyielding chords and octaves, and his capricious, and at times, leisurely changes of the mood in Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz. One could even hear the high-pitched satanic laughter.
The audience was dazzled and fully captivated by Besalyan’s bell-like tone in the music by Armenian composers Komitas and Baghdassarian, which were performed with magnificent imagination and splendid colorful changes of tonality.
Earl Wild arrangements of Gershwin Songs were snappy and tasteful.
In Besalyan’s rendition of Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata the “violence” and the “cool‐headedness” were brought out with much power and set apart vividly from Prokofiev’s hollow and distorted melodies.
I must say that Besalyan is a true heir of the mainstream of Russian pianism, like Horowitz.
Izumi Hall, Osaka, Japan, April 13, 2008
Chopin Magazine , July 2008 , Japan
Raffi Besalyan and Yuri Segawa Duo Recital
Since his successful concert tour in Japan in 2001, Armenian-born pianist Raffi Besalyan has been invited back every year to play concerts and teach master classes. He has been steadily establishing his name and musical career in this country, and on August 29, 2010, Besalyan and his wife violinist Yuri Segawa Besalyan made their duo debut in Phoenix Hall in Osaka.
Recital began with Debussy’s Sonata for Violin and Piano. Besalyan’s accompaniment was solid and reliable from the start. His tender tone and gentle sonorities were filled with colorful nuances throughout. Segawa’s true abilities were revealed as the movements progressed; her sound attained the necessary warmth and she brought the music to an exciting finale.
Darkly passionate and colorful works of Armenian composers Babajanian and Komitas are highly folkloristic. As a native Armenian, Besalyan deeply felt this music and enchanted the audience with his temperamental phrasing. The convincing performance demonstrated that the feelings and emotions expressed by the two musicians were mutual-Segawa felt precisely the same way as her husband did, her violin sang with great affection, passion and yearning. Komitas’s “Crane” was glorious. Both Besalyan and Segawa brought the rich ethnic music to life and performed it with great pathos.
Last in the first half of the program was Scriabin’s Piano Sonata No.3. Distinctly dynamic and symphonic in nature, Besalyan’s magnificent sound filled the entire hall. He manipulated the leaping rhythms with intensity throughout all four movements, and built the music into a solid three-dimensional architecture employing his warm, deep touch at the keyboard. Besalyan aimed for the portrayal of Scriabin as a masculine “Russian Virtuoso” on the edge, rather than only a “sensuous romantic.”
The second half of the program began with Besalyan’s account of three
Chopin Etudes Op.25-the famous “Butterfly”, the “Octave” Etude and the “Ocean”. Besalyan’s Chopin had a solid core, it sang with a rich juicy tone. Here again, his playing was dynamic, the music came alive throbbing with excitement. These are perhaps some of Besalyan’s best qualities.
Next was Ysaye’s “Poem Elegiaque” for violin and piano. Segawa’s melancholic expression and skillful use of portamento combined with her profound emotional approach captivated the audience with persuasive power. She executed the technical passages, double-stops and octaves with vivid colors. Her beautiful singing tone had a strong appeal and was quite seductive. This was very different from Segawa’s interpretation of Debussy. Indeed, Besalyan and Segawa are a married couple, they were in complete harmony with each other once again-the timing and direction of their phrasing in absolute unison.
Ravel’s own transcription of “La Valse” for piano solo rounded off this memorable recital. Here, Besalyan vigorously and persistently pulled out the poisonous characteristics of Ravel’s “La Valse” with its seditious rhythms in the lower register and brilliantly sparkling magnificent passages. It was again, exceptionally entertaining. Besalyan’s impellent power and boldly emotional performance aroused the entire atmosphere. The pianist used the instrument to its full capacity to create a wide range of marvelous sounds and colors. Besalyan drove the work to a fiery, dramatic coda with overwhelming intensity. It was definitely a jaw-dropping performance of a masterpiece!
Besalyan and Segawa were called back several times by the continuous applause of the audience. It was unforgettable when Segawa said, “even though we sometimes argued during our practice, we worked very hard to bring-up this music.” The duo recital was full of warm love from the wife and the husband who share their life and love for the music.
August 29, 2010 (Review written on August 30, 2010)
Phoenix Hall, Osaka, Japan
Cremaster 5「男前な音楽」
Web Music Reviews
Sunday Afternoon Live from the Chazen
”SAL celebrates 30 years on WPR”
Spring unraveled like a beautiful secret at the hands of pianist Raffi Besalyan as he performed a work called Spring by fellow Armenian composer Komitas. Besalyan threw in some Mozart, a Chopin Scherzo, a few Gershwin tunes (including the ragtime-infused and torrential “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” transcription by Earl Wild), Rachmaninoff and ended on a fiery note with Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz.
Classical music fans who don’t tune into the weekly live chamber music series on Wisconsin Public Radio are missing some incredible live performances in this series broadcast before an audience by WPR from the Chazen Museum of Art on the UW Madison campus.
SCENE Newspaper (WI), by Jim Lundstrom
“Rachmaninoff was performed with a nice juicy singing tone, lovely, nice inner voicings”
“Technically brilliant… Besalyan played with a great deal of temperament, speed and power.”
“…audacious spirit and poetic substance, deeply felt tenderness.”
“The Liszt Mephisto Waltz…was hair-raising. One could not help but admire the opening and the famous treacherous octave leaps later on.”
“Besalyan has many wonderful elements in his playing that cannot be taught.”
“Mozart Sonata in C Major, K330 began with a lively tempo and lucent tone. Immediately one sensed his enjoyment in playing and love of the music.”
Carnegie Recital Hall, New York
New York Concert Review Magazine
“Besalyan is transformed by the substance of the music into a persona of great authority and power.” “Rachmaninoff’s works truly exposed Raffi Besalyan’s poetic world. With concentration to detail, he aspired to and revealed the inner intricacies of the music.”
“Besalyan’s magnetic presence, so necessary for the audience, was evident throughout the entire Liszt Sonata in b minor, where he displayed his highest skill in mastery of the unity of developing musical drama.”
AZG, Yerevan, Armenia
Pianist wows audience in performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto
“Standing ovation and cries of “Bravo” and “Encore” went to pianist Raffi Besalyan… mesmerized the audience with his gracious, delicate yet powerful presentation of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No.3.”
Armenian Reporter Int’l, New York
“Bravo for the (Chopin) Fourth Ballade!!”
“…I am sure Raffi will do many wonderful things with this great concerto (Rachmaninoff’s Third).”
“Raffi is a gifted pianist with his own face.”
Byron Janis, concert pianist
The flow of Baghdassarian’s Prelude instantly changed the color and the air of Izumi Hall. The entire hall was devoured by Besalyan’s glorious touch and crystalline sound.
Besalyan brought early Spring to his audience with the tender melody of “Spring”, a piece by another Armenian composer Komitas.
“..the flower buds in yet cold and young spring unfold and bloom one by one.. beautiful flowers are everywhere.. the gentle breeze goes through..” Not only did I, but so did the audience truly feel such illusion.
Besalyan’s performance of the Rachmaninoff Sonata No.2 was technically authoritative and full of passion and expression. As soon as he started the piece, variety of sounds and colors began stirring in the hall. Besalyan’s sound was ringing, flowing and singing. There were beautiful moments of suspension and sweep, one could even hear sounds that were almost imaginary, non existent. Besalyan was not just playing the piano, he was creating wonderful art, and treated the piano with his love for the music.
Sotokuan Press, Osaka, Japan
The audience couldn’t help but be blown away by the talent of guest pianist Raffi Besalyan and his wife, violinist Yuri Segawa Besalyan, when they performed Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with the Tulare Symphony recently at the Fox. The outstanding performance was even more amazing because the violinist filled in with one week’s notice after the original guest violinist couldn’t get a visa out of Russia.
The audience rose to its feet to give a standing ovation to the violinist and her husband.
The Times-Delta, CA
An Evening to Remember
I attended the piano recital of Armenian-born pianist Raffi Besalyan in Clintonville on April 16. What a splendid interpretation of Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff – I was totally mesmerized by Mr. Besalyan’s dynamic performance. The rest of his repertoire, Liszt’s Mephisto Waltz, Chopin’s Etudes and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue were played with extreme perfection, Mr. Besalyan really let “the piano speak”. Indeed, we are very fortunate to have this magnetic and passionate pianist to share his gift of music with us. Wow! And, Bravo!
Tribune Gazette, WI
Raffi played magnificently and now has legions of fans in Tubac. The audience barely breathed while he played. And such a difficult program! We all feel very privileged to have heard him and will watch his career with great interest. It was a real thrill.
Tubac Concert Association, AZ
“Besalyan’s playing is superb… The audience went wild!”
Overture Concerts, Nelson BC, Canada
