Faculties > Piano

Besides, the Faculty also organizes the study process of all the other departments and faculties of the Conservatory, where the subject "Basic Piano" is compulsory.

Special Piano Departments

The same situation was typical also for other departments of the new conservatory. The plenty of "schools" and methods of teaching allowed making a choice, according to the practice results and efficiency of each of them.

The contemporaries witness that this kind of creative pluralism influenced the conservatory only positively; all the professors were unified by love and devotion to their country, and wished to work in its name.

The next generation of pianists who have taught at YSC, was relatively less "motley"; it consisted mostly of the Soviet Russian institutes' (Moscow and Leningrad Conservatories) graduates.

The generation of pianists-pedagogues that has been involved in the YSC in 1940-50'ies, has played an enormous role in the development of piano pedagogy. Among them - late professors Robert Andriasyan, Georgy Saradjev, Cathy Malkhasyan, Anna Ambakumyan. Being Moscow and Leningrad Conservatories graduates, they have inserted the methods of teaching of the best Soviet piano schools founded by their outstanding pedagogues - Konstantine Igumnov, Samary Savshinsky, Leonid Nikolayev. Many musical and moral traditions, as well as the creative atmosphere of their alma mater that have been re-created by them, also have the same importance.

The present generation of the Piano Faculty teachers remembers their names with gratitude, because today's professors and docents have mostly studied with them, or graduated like them from the leading conservatories of the Soviet Union. Among them - many Republic, Transcaucasian, All-Union and International Competitions' Laureates, Honored and People's Artists of RA, who are still active as concert performers and give master classes in many musical education institutions all over the world. The following professors are International Competitions' prizewinners: Svetlana Navasardyan, Anahit Nersisyan, Karine Ohanyan, Marine Abrahamyan, Armen Babakhanyan and others.

Department of Accompaniment

Taking this fact into consideration, the YSC management pays a serious attention to the development of professional accompanying skills.

WWith this aim, the piano students of the YSC have an obligatory accompanying course during all the five years of study, simultaneously with their "specialty" course.

Besides the pedagogues a number of "illustrators" - violinists, violists, cellists, singers, and flutists - work at this Department. They perform solo parts during the lessons, and the students learn the accompanying art working with them under the supervision of their professors.

Many YSC students, who soberly appreciate their professional possibilities and perspectives, study accompanying art with the same responsibility, as their "specialty".

It is also a merit of the professors who were always known as devoted pedagogues - starting with the founders of the Department - G.Budaghyan, K.Dombaev, A.Dolukhanyan, K.Melik-Beglaryan, N.Sahyan, - who still unit the present teaching staff that continues with enthusiasm the traditions of the Department under the management of Prof. Senora Gyulbudaghyan.

Department of History of Performing Art and Pedagogies

The Department also provides the theoretical course of "Psychology".

Besides, the Department organizes the pedagogical practice for students of all the Conservatory faculties. With this aim, the Department has a Music Studio for children. The students teach them under the supervision of their professors.

On the initiative of the Head of Department, Prof. Irina Zolotova, the facultative course "Basis of Piano Improvisation" is organized. The students having creative abilities ahead this course vividly. The annual recitals of this facultative course have always a wide public and big success.

Basic Piano Department

The huge difference between students' performing levels is also one of peculiarities of this Department. Among them - composers, musicologists or conductors who have entered the Conservatory after graduating from Piano Departments of music school or colleges (i.e., having studied the piano for about 10-11 years), and, in the same time, singers with beautiful voices, but without musical knowledge, who have started to study the piano only at the preparatory courses of the Conservatory. These peculiarities of the "student material", of course, make the teachers' work more difficult, but, as the practice shows, don't disturb them to prepare qualified musicians - be it instrumental performers or singers.

The wide and united teaching staff of the Basic Piano Department realized that, possessing the piano performance, playing polyphonic piano compositions, musicians develop their harmonic ear; being acquainted to the complicated piano texture and multiple expressive possibilities of this instrument, they improve their musical understanding and imagination.

The experience shows that the singers who were pianists in past, or have hade a good piano training in school, college or conservatory, perform their repertoires with more precise intonation and rhythm.

Possessing the piano helps especially opera singers to avoid in future many problems with their accompanists, opera ensemble partners and, of course, conductors and stage producers. The paramount of students understands it and pays worthy attention to the development of their piano skills. The annual student recitals of the piano music organized by the Head of the Department, Prof. E. L.Gasparyan, also prove that.