Urvakan Festival, which is coming back on September 23–25, is organized outside the capital this year. This time, the festival will take place at very special venue in Dilijan - the Armenian Composers’ Union Resort, thus contributing to the realization of cultural events in regions and promoting the development and activation of regional life.
The Armenian Composers’ Union Resort is a modernist architectural complex located in the picturesque mountain forests not far from the center of Dilijan.
"This place is of great importance for our entire team. In 2019, we were inspired right here and decided for sure that the next Urvakan will take place here. Historically, many amazing events have been organized in this place in the past, and there will be more now,"- the organizers of the festival noted.
Decades ahead of its time, the Armenian Composers’ Union provided this luxurious residence in the Soviet district of Dilijan to Dmitri Shostakovich, Benjamin Britten, Mstislav Rostropovich, Rodion Shchedrin and Edward Mirzoyan. Everyone here not only created their own music, but also played football, admired the mountain thunder and had late-night conversations in a secret bar.
“Although this place once hosted prominent musicians of the 20th century, today this amazing example of Armenian modernism struggles for both functional and conceptual survival. This year, the Urvakan Festival team will try to revive the infrastructure and properly demonstrate its power, depth and beauty," - the organizers of the Festival added.
The complex itself is a cluster of cottages tiled in pink tuff that open towards the mountainous landscapes of Armenia. With a modernist concert hall, restaurant, and an outdoor swimming pool, the Resort’s cottages create a haven that is completely hidden from the outer noise and happenings. Each with its own grand piano and a design that ensured just the right secludedness for musing, the Composers’ Union Resort is due to soon inspire the festival’s utmost execution.
The organizers are sure that the Composers' Union will inspire to make the festival happen in the best possible way. During the festival the Beethoven Concert Hall will host the world’s premiere of Hayrapetyan’s ‘The Wind’ performed by Yerevan’s Ensemble Assonance.
It should be noted that the festival, founded in 2019, took place for the first time in Yerevan, becoming one of the important cultural events of the region in its first year. Urvakan is not just a cultural festival, it also keeps political, social and environmental issues and problems at its core. Educational labs, workshops and round table discussions will also be held within the framework of the festival.
The offering is vast yet focused on core concepts — reconceiving and transcending genres from contemporary, electronic and electroacoustic music to folk, noise, militant dub, underground rap and everything in-between.
The organizers of the festival are hopeful that there will be a large tourist flow in Dilijan in September.
