Past week was an intrigue for cinema and music lovers

PanARMENIAN.Net - The British Council Armenia has set a special prize – the fest winner will be screened at Bristol Film Festival, with the British Council covering all expenses. Serge Avedikian’s Barking Island film will close the festival.

As to music contests, Chairman of the Council of the Armenian Public Television and Radio Company Alexan Harutyunyan announced that from now on the Art Council of the Armenian Public TV will be selecting participants of Eurovision song contest. Starting from 2011, the Armenian audience will choose not the participant but the song he/she will perform at the contest.

Rock lovers were celebrating the news about Serj Tankian’s solo concert he will perform with a at Yerevan's Karen Demirchyan Sports and Concert Complex on August 12, 2010. Tankian will perform songs from his Elect the Dead album with six of his SOAD band members accompanied by classical musicians from Armenia.

The Armenian government has decided to allocate AMD 62mln to purchase a Steinway Grand Piano for Aram Khachaturian Philharmonic Hall.

Armenian painter Minas Avetisyan's 2 frescos will be transported from Gyumri to the RA government building for further restoration by Italian experts. “Minas's 12 frescos, which are kept in Gyumri, are in a very poor condition. Armenia lacks specialists and essential materials but AMD 20 mln will be allocated for transportation and restoration,” Culture Minister Hasmik Poghosyan said. For his part, RA Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan offered to put the frescos up for auction. “Many Armenian businessmen would like to have artworks in their offices and can assign funds for their transportation, I believe. It would be a good bargain,” he said.

Armenian youth representatives gathered to clean the monuments to Komitas, Aram Khachaturian and Sayat Nova on the initiative of RPA youth wing and Komitas Yerevan State Conservatory’s student union. The event aimed to increase public awareness on monument preservation.

Tchaikovsky Music School hosted an event dedicated to the 170th anniversary of the great Russian composer, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Famous works of the composer were performed by students and graduates of the school, as well as by the teaching staff of Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory and soloists of Spendiaryan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre. The event was organized by the Russian Center of Science and Culture of Rossotrudnichestvo representative office in Armenia.

Armenia has joined the countries celebrating the World Music Day on June 21 on the initiative of the French Embassy to RA and Armenian Ministry of Culture. 7 regions of Armenia will be engaged in festivities this year. Concerts with participation of local musicians will take place in 24 towns and villages.

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended the opening of Armenian manuscripts and ancient printed books exhibition at Saltykov-Shchedrin national library in St. Petersburg. In the library, the President visited Voltaire’s hall where he familiarized himself with writer’s private library and evidences of the latter’s connections with Armenia.

Artists’ Union of Armenia hosted a farewell ceremony to honor Armenian artist Varuzhan Vardanyan, with high-ranking officials, art and culture workers attending. “It’s regretful that talent is often valued after the death of the person,” writer Edward Militonyan said in a conversation with a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. “I am hopeful that Varuzhan Vardanyan’s works will be famous in future.”