ANOUSH POGOSSIAN
CLARINETIST

00:00 I. Äußerst langsam 01:50 II. Presto possible 03:15 III. Sehr langsam, frei 05:41 IV. Energiegeladen, sehr schnell 07:01 V. Achtel = 40 Anoush Pogossian, clarinet Po-Wei Ger, piano Performed August 2023 at Yellow Barn

"Duft" (Scent), 2012 I. Blütenstaub (Pollen) by Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) Anoush Pogossian, clarinet Recorded March 2024

Anoush Pogossian, Clarinet Luis Ortiz, Piano Prokofiev Sonata in D Major for Flute/Violin and Piano, Op. 94 Arranged by Kent Kennan (& with some of my own alterations! :) Performed 3/24 at The Juilliard School

Anoush Pogossian, Clarinet Luis Ortiz, Piano Prokofiev Sonata in D Major for Flute/Violin and Piano, Op. 94 Arranged by Kent Kennan (& with some of my own alterations! :) Performed 3/24 at The Juilliard School

The 2020 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts present: "Unmuted." From director Noah Lee (2018, NJ): "This past year, the collective spirit within our nation was temporarily put on mute, as the pandemic compromised daily life, political differences broke the chains of kinship and empathy that connected us as Americans, and voices went unrepresented or unheard. “Unmuted” - an interdisciplinary arts production performed by the 2020 Presidential Scholars - is a declaration to break through the accumulated mental constraints formed from these stressful circumstances, and unmute their emotions, their art, their individuality. We hope this performance shines a light of encouragement on you all to similarly connect with yourselves, discover ways to create unity within your own communities, and rejuvenate hope in your hearts for the new year. 2021 is the year to unmute ourselves." ______ "unmuted." PROJECT DIRECTOR Noah Lee (PSA 2018, Classical Music) PROJECT MENTOR Michael Silberblatt (PSA 2010, Theater) PRODUCTION TEAM Aaron Greenberg (PSA 2017, Theater) Noah Lee Michael Silberblatt Cornelius Tulloch (PSA 2016, Visual Arts) Alisha Yi (PSA 2018, Writing) EDITING TEAM Laura Futamura (PSA 2020, Classical Music) Jeffrey Lam (Academic PS 2020) Noah Lee Michael Silberblatt DISCIPLINE MENTORS Alaman Diadhiou (PSA 2019, Dance) Aaron Greenberg Noah Lee Michael Silberblatt Cornelius Tulloch Alisha Yi PERFORMERS (2020 PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLARS IN THE ARTS) Anthony Arya - Singer/Songwriter Isabella Cho - Writing Sage Croft - Film Laura Futamura - Classical Music Meagan Hipsky - Classical Music Nouhoum Koita - Dance Ryan McCord - Photography Mia Palomba - Design Arts Anoush Pogossian - Classical Music Benjamin T. Rossen - Classical Music Mallorie Sievert - Theater Pranav Tadikonda - Dance Nicholas Turgeon - Visual Arts Jieyan Wang - Writing "Daydream" Suite composed by Eric Kinny, liscenced from Musicbed.com Stock Footage from Pexels.com, Pixabay.com, and MotionElements.com Third party archival news footage used under "Fair Use".

Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) "Abîme des oiseaux" (Abyss of the Birds) for solo clarinet from Quatuor pour la Fin du Temps (Quartet for the End of Time) (1940-41) "'Abyss of the Birds' for clarinet alone. The abyss is Time with its sadness, its weariness. The birds are the opposite to Time; they are our desire for light, for stars, for rainbows, and for jubilant songs." -O. Messiaen Anoush Pogossian, clarinet Recorded February 2024

Anoush Pogossian, clarinet Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian, violins Cara Pogossian, viola Edvard Pogossian, cello Our family believes in using the power of music to make a difference for those in need. For years, we've been supporting a wonderful organization, Music for Food (https://musicforfood.net/). If you enjoyed this concert and wish to contribute towards the food services of the Midnight Mission (Skid Row, LA), you have our gratitude! https://www.midnightmission.org/donate/ Recorded August 20, 2020 Audio: Sergey Parfenov Video: Justus Schlichting Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875-1912) was born in London, the product of a mixed race marriage, his father being an African from Sierra Leone and his mother a white Englishwoman. His musical talent showed itself early and he was admitted to study the violin at the Royal College of Music where he eventually concentrated on composition. His best-known work, Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast, was so popular that it led to three tours of the United States and invitation by President Theodore Roosevelt to visit the White House in 1904. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor died of pneumonia in 1912 at the age of 37. Throughout his short life, he faced financial struggles and personal tragedy, which are both often linked to his early demise. His Clarinet Quintet was composed in 1895 as the result of a challenge issued by his composition teacher, Sir Charles Stanford. After a performance of the Brahms clarinet quintet at the Royal Academy of Music, Stanford is reputed to have said to his class that no composer could now write such a composition without escaping the influence of Brahms. Within 2 months, Coleridge-Taylor did just that and, in the process, had produced what is an undeniable masterpiece. One especially hears Dvorak's influence in the lovely second movement, Larghetto affettuoso, which recalls the slow movement of the New World Symphony.

...with the wrench... (2021) by Bram Fisher Esme Arias-Kim, violin Ian Maloney, cello Anoush Pogossian, clarinet, Joshua Weinfeld, percussion Yellow Barn Young Artists Program, July 2021

Anoush Pogossian, clarinet Movses Pogossian and Varty Manouelian, violins Cara Pogossian, viola Edvard Pogossian, cello Recorded April 21, 2020 Aida Shirazi - Blood Moon “…And the dark night was deserted, like the vast infinite; And, with the lonely and bloody moon, Like a myriad motionless marble statues, All the dead bodies of our earth arose to pray for one another.” This is the closing paragraph of the Prayer by the Armenian poet, Siamanto. Once I read Prayer, I found myself fascinated with the beauty and allure that Siamanto has created through the incredibly dark, violent, and melancholic imagery. A miniature for clarinet and string quartet, Blood Moon is my musical answer to Prayer, where the glissandi in the strings rise from a dark and cloudy texture, while the clarinet soars from and disappears into its lowest register, and call others to rise and move. I took advantage of the musical evocativeness of the Armenian folk song, Loosin Yelav (The Moon Has Risen) and the literal connection of its text to Siamanto’s poem, and quoted short fragments of the song towards the end of Blood Moon. - Aida Shirazi http://aidashirazi.com