"Fact" daily writes:
In the previous issue of the newspaper, we referred to the main event of the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, the gala concert, for which the government allocated 106 million drams.
It should be reminded that on April 14, Lang Lang, the world-famous American pianist of Chinese origin, will perform at the Sports Concert Complex named after Karen Demirchyan. We informed that we had written several questions to the orchestra, but we did not receive an answer.
The newspaper was contacted by the orchestra and informed that they sent a response by email as recently as February 12.
In fact, the orchestra did not avoid the answer, just for technical reasons the answer did not reach us. We've asked for the response to be resubmitted, and we've included it below.
In particular, when asked why the decision was made to invite the pianist Lang Lang, the orchestra answered: "American pianist Lang Lang of Chinese origin is one of the best pianists in the world, one of the most influential and famous musicians of our time. He performs with the most prestigious orchestras on the best stages of the world.
A few days ago, Lang Lang gave a speech at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympic Games held in Milan. It is a great achievement that Lang Lang has agreed to perform at the main concert of the 20th anniversary concert season of the State Symphony Orchestra of Armenia, which will take place on April 14.
It is a unique opportunity for the State Symphony Orchestra of Armenia to celebrate its anniversary and the past 20 years of high art with this collaboration. Lang Lang's upcoming visit to Armenia is important not only for our country and the State Symphony Orchestra of Armenia, but it is also a major cultural event on a regional scale, which will significantly boost cultural tourism (the concert is expected to attract spectators from Georgia, Russia and other countries)."
As for how much the pianist's fee will be, no answer was given, stating: "The provisions of the contract with Lang Lang, which refer to the latter's income, are the latter's secret, and we have no authority to reveal it." However, the issue was important especially in the sense that the payment is made from the state budget, and transparency is paramount in this regard.
The next question was whether there will be ticket sales, and if so, what pricing policy will be in place. "The sale of tickets has already been announced. The price of concert tickets is between 5,000 and 50,000 drams," the answer states.
And will the 106 million drams allocated by the government "cover" all expenses, or will the orchestra look for sponsors or other means? This question was answered by the orchestra. "The money allocated by the RA government will cover a part of the costs of the pianist's participation. The concert will take place in the large hall of the Sports Concert Complex, which also implies large organizational costs.
The orchestra must acquire the organizational costs of the concert through fundraising from various sources in order to be able to properly implement this event of great importance in the creative life of the orchestra, which brings great recognition to the orchestra and our country."
Details in today's issue of "Past" daily
