Arshak Andriasov

How it feels to perform with Violinist and Violist Victor Romasevich.

It is always such a joy to perform any composition with Violinist/Violist Victor Romasevich. Not much is needed to be said during rehearsals, because we completely understand one another and what we are trying to accomplish. We are both pupils of my father and one of the countless things we learned from him was the importance of professionalism with an ability to have a flow without being rigid. This is why we are able to consistently show important moments in a composition, while not disrupting the continuity. A performance and recording has to feel alive and positive.

Take, for instance, the performance of Iosif Andriasov’s Musical Sketch for Viola and Piano we had in Old First Church. I just recently flew into San Francisco and completely caught a cold during the process. We were going to perform a whole concert without rehearsing much due to how far we live from each other. There were no excuses, no whining. Numerous times have we performed under such stresses and every time the recordings turn out to be wonderful. I have been truly lucky being friends with such an awesome person as Victor.

The Musical Sketch is one of our favorite compositions due to the complexity of a seemingly short and “easy” work. When a musician, or anyone for that matter, feels arrogant enough to think that a piece will be easy to play, then they show their ignorance inside of them. If you are a true professional, then you realize that a composition, especially an incredible one, will always feel fresh if you are innovative. Once you stop progressing inside and try to perform a piece in your own level instead of raising your level up to the composition’s standards, then you have become a dull person in need of inner strength.

We have performed the Sketch numerous times in different venues. Every time we approach this composition, Victor and I see how we have progressed and also what we have to work on interpretation wise. To rehearse with Victor is a wonderful feeling, because we both are joking at certain moments and also we are diligent in what we want try to achieve: a great performance to honor Iosif Andriasov as best we can. Here is the recording of this performance.