Igor Naydin: Borodin Quartet linked to Armenia

May 26, 2010 - 16:47 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Viola player of the Borodin Quartet Igor Naydin said that the Quartet has established closer ties with Armenia during the past years, first of all, due to first violin player Ruben Aharonyan.

“However, the quartet is tied with Armenia through other links as well,” Naydin told a press conference in Yerevan on May 26.

Specifically, he noted that Professor of Moscow Conservatory Mikhail Terian was the first pedagogue of the Borodin Quartet.

Naidin told about a film shoot in mid 1980-s, which was dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the quartet. “In it, one can hear Mikhail Terian’s off-screen voice telling about each member of the Quartet,” he said.

Besides, the current repertoire of the Borodin Quartet includes compositions of Armenian composers, Ruben Aharonyan said.

The Borodin Quartet

The Borodin Quartet is one of Russia’s famous string quartets; besides, it is one of the world's longest lasting chamber ensembles. It was established in 1944 by Mikhail Terian. In 1955, it was renamed after Alexander Borodin, one of the founders of the Russian chamber music. The Quartet had a close relationship with composer Dmitri Shostakovich, though usually Beethoven Quartet was implementing the premiere performance of Shostakovich quartets (except for the last one – the Fifteenth Quartet - which was performed for the first time by Taneyev Quartet of Leningrad.) After the composer’s death, the Borodin Quartet has numerously performed the cycle of all quartets of Shostakovich during its Moscow and guest concerts. In 2002, the Quartet members were awarded with the State Prize of the Russian Federation. Currently, the Quartet includes Ruben Aharonyan (first violin), Andrey Abramenkov (second violin), Igor Naydin (viola), Vladimir Balyshin (violoncello).