Gevorg Dabagian

Gevorg Dabaghyan (Armenian: Գևորգ Դաբաղյան) is among the most important duduk players in Armenia today. He is a professor of the duduk at the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory, and on the advisory board of Yerzart Arts. Not only a great virtuoso player, he is also one of the first to perform excerpts from the Divine Liturgy of the Armenian church on the duduk, a double–reed wind instrument developed nearly 1,500 years ago. Its signature tone is plagent, mournful and slightly nasal, but it is also capable of tender lyricism and genuine, if somewhat subdued energy. Dabagian is especially famous for his interpretations of the works of Sayat Nova and his performances of traditional Armenian folk music are considered by purists to be free of foreign influence. He studied at the Yerevan State Conservatory, where he now teaches; in addition, he is the leader of the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble. Gevorg Dabagian is the soloist, but the duduk is never played alone. A second duduk (or even a small group of duduk players) will always accompany the lead player with a drone, creating a musical environment for the lead duduk's melody. The duduk dam, or drone accompaniment, is provided by Girgor Takushian and Eduard Harutunian. Kamo Khachaturian, one of Armenia's most sought–after percussionists, plays the dhol two-headed drum. Gevorg Dabaghyan has collaborated with numerous artists such as Mannik Grigoryan, Mychael Danna, Jan Garbarek and Yo-Yo Ma. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.