Arshak Andriasov

How I Felt Performing At Carnegie Hall.

The sheer thought of opening night at Carnegie Hall on May 5th, 1891 brings me goosebumps. Can you imagine how it must have felt for the audience when they got a chance to listen to Pyotr Iliyich Tchaikovsky conduct his Marche Solennelle? I cannot even fathom this. If we had a chance to go back in time and experience something in this life, this event would definitely hit my top 10.

On April 6, 2008, musicians from the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and I performed The 3rd New York Andriasov Music Festival. This was done for the 75th anniversary of my father’s birth and definitely there was no better place to have this wonderful event.

From the first entrance of Weill Recital Hall, the beautiful hall for chamber music, just stirred in me an incredible feeling. The one that was excited to bring dad’s music to the same hall that heard Rachmaninoff’s, Beethoven’s, Mozart’s and many more geniuses.

This concert was going to be a long one, two hours and a half. But every moment that was going by, I felt like why should it ever end? The pressure was there of course due to the occasion. I do not get nervous performing because the audience took their time to visit the performance. How can I be anything but happy to share this music and my interpretation to them. But this was different.

I performed through most of the concert, with the exceptions of dad’s String Quartet and Piano Trio. I really did want to make it the best performance possible and really practiced a lot to get my hands used to the strenuous duration. Plus, it being one day before his birthday added to the responsibility.

Inside, of course, I cried missing him. I even remember crying while playing one of his pieces.

This was something that nobody could take away from me, my love for dad and sharing it in Carnegie Hall. This definitely is one of my top 10 moments that I was a part of in my life.

Victor Romasevich (L); Arshak Andriasov (C); Philip Santos (R).