With "Homage to Yerevan - A Declaration of Love", the Kesselhaus invites you on a special musical journey to the Armenian capital. The concert is a poetic approach to Yerevan - a city full of history, melancholy, humor and musical depth, which is also known to many through the legendary "Radio Erevan jokes".
Founded in 782 BC by King Argishti I as the Urartian fortress city of Erebuni, Yerevan is one of the oldest permanently inhabited cities in the world. This historical fact is documented - without any Radio Erevan irony - by preserved cuneiform records. If you want to delve deeper, you should visit Armenia; if you are looking for a foretaste, this evening in the Kesselhaus is just right for you.
The focus is on the music of important Armenian composers such as Aram Khachaturian, Arno Babadzhanian, Konstantin Orbelyan and others. Their lyrical and melodic works, reinterpreted in jazz garb, reflect the soul of Yerevan. Armenian jazz is characterized by the combination of oriental rhythms, deeply felt lyricism and striking melodies.
The internationally renowned jazz pianist Vahagn Hayrapetyan, an established figure on the Armenian jazz scene, presents this music together with his trio and the charismatic singer and entertainer Hayk Petrosyan. Hayrapetyan, who studied with bebop legends Barry Harris and Frank Hewitt, among others, and performed at major festivals such as New Orleans and Montreal, was already a guest at the Kesselhaus with his trio in 2022. Now he returns with a musical declaration of love to his hometown.
Vahagn Hayrapetyan - Piano | Composition | Conducting
Vahagn Hayrapetyan graduated from the Tchaikovsky School of Music and the Yerevan State Conservatory as a pianist and composer. His studies in New York with jazz greats such as Barry Harris and Frank Hewitt were formative. He worked with music legends such as Elvin Jones, Jimmy Lovelace, Chico Freeman and Lenny White.
Hayrapetyan has released several albums in New Orleans, including Love for Sale, Trip to New Orleans and Bop It Up, and has performed at international festivals such as the Montreal Jazz Festival and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. He has been the pianist of the famous Armenian Navy Band since 1998, founded his own band Katuner in 2004 and released his solo album Singin' and Swingin' in 2010.
In addition to his concert activities, he has worked as a jazz lecturer in the Middle East and is the composer of numerous film scores. He received an award at the Beijing International Movie Festival for the soundtrack to If Only Everyone. Vahagn Hayrapetyan is a Merited Artist of the Republic of Armenia.
Hayk Petrosyan - Vocalist | Entertainer
Hayk Petrosyan is a singer, actor and presenter and is one of the most distinctive voices on the contemporary Armenian music scene. After his military service, he began his professional music career and made a name for himself internationally with concerts in honor of Charles Aznavour.
Since 2015, he has been performing with successful programs such as For You, Aznavour, Merci, Charles (world tour) and the "Jazznavour" project, which reinterprets classic chansons in jazzy arrangements. His concerts have taken him to Paris, Los Angeles, Beirut, Brussels, Sydney and throughout Armenia.
At the same time, Petrosyan is working on his long-term Komitas research project, with which he is shedding new light on Armenia's musical heritage. His stage presence combines musical virtuosity with charm, humor and emotional depth.
Dave Geodakyan - Double Bass | Composition
Dave Geodakyan is a composer, arranger, conductor and one of Armenia's most versatile jazz bassists. After studying applied mathematics, he turned his full attention to music and graduated with honors in composition from the Yerevan State Conservatory.
He is the bassist of the Armenian Public TV & Radio Symphony-Jazz Orchestra, founder of several big band formations and has been teaching jazz theory, improvisation and ensemble conducting at the conservatory since 2019. He released the album On the Run with his Dave Geodakyan Sextet in 2021, followed by Expectations in 2025.
His compositional work includes symphonic, chamber music and jazz-related works. Numerous awards recognize his commitment as a musician, teacher and conductor.
Rose Eisen - Curator | Photo and video art
Originally from Armenia, the photo and video artist Rose Eisen has lived in Berlin since 1992. In Yerevan, she worked as a cultural and music editor in public radio, which has given her a keen sense of sound, rhythm and image composition to this day.
In Berlin, she worked for the renowned Galerie Bremer, among others, and recently coordinated the international documentary film "DUDUK" about the Armenian national instrument. Her photographic works are characterized by colour-intensive arrangements in the tradition of Dutch still lifes, combined with collage techniques reminiscent of Hannah Höch - but in a contemporary, three-dimensional form.
Museum of Contemporary Art in Yerevan. With "Homage to Yerevan", she combines music, history and visual memory to create an interdisciplinary Gesamtkunstwerk.