Interview with Ashot Tigranyan on www.forumclasico.es

Could you tell us a little the origin and formation of the Classical Concert Chamber Orchestra (CCCO)?

The Classical Concert Chamber Orchestra was created with the intention of honoring the
distinct and iconic style of the Old Russian School. I was educated at the Moscow State
Conservatory alongside legendary Russian Violinist Leonid Kogan, and after I left Russia and
came to America, I wanted to continue to spread my grand style of music. My mission with this
orchestra is to reconstitute the old language of the violin playing and music making. Classical
Concert Chamber Orchestra was originally founded in 2006 in California and has since
performed in many cities across the United States. In 2012, the orchestra began its first tours of
Europe. In an effort to both reproduce and recreate the form and sound of a traditional chamber
orchestra, our ensemble of roughly thirty virtuoso musicians works closely to achieve my
personal vision and is modeled after chamber orchestras of the Baroque and Classical eras.

During the month of February you are touring Spain, what might we anticipate for the programs and the role of this tour?

We are now traveling back to Spain for the fourth time on tour and I am really looking
forward to it. Our tour of Spain begins February 5, 2014, in Valencia at the Palau de le Musica.
We are spending most of our time in Northern Spain and will be performing in Valencia,
Zaragoza, Madrid, A Coruña, Valladolid, Barcelona, San Sebastian, Pamplona, and Bilbao, with
a special performance in Montpellier, France, anticipating our tour in this country in april 2015. I
enjoy being able to spread the Russian school where I belong and its special sound throughout
Spain. The musical heritage in Spain, its culture, food, and people; it is one of my favorite
countries. The CCC Orchestra has had a lot of success in Spain, and I feel that our music and
unique presence is lauded there. The desire to continue this tradition of music is exceptionally
strong in Spain.
We will present a great selection of pieces for both solo violin and orchestra.The first part of
the Spanish program includes celebrated concertos from Antonio Vivaldi and Wolfgang A.
Mozart, while the second half of this program features pieces by Spanish composers such as
Manuel de Falla and “highlight” the “Carmen Fantasy Op. 25” by Pablo Sarasate. The concerts
in Zaragoza on February 8th, Madrid on February 10th, and Barcelona on February 18th will
feature the great soprano Virginia Tola, who will be singing the famous “Seven Popular Spanish
Songs” by Manuel de Falla along with CCCO.

You come from the legendary violin school, Leonid Kogan, which has one of the most prestigious followers. How do this model develop in your students?

The CCC Orchestra is not necessarily a group of my students, but rather a collection of
musicians that have learned to follow my direction and play in my style. They represent my form
and sound as a collective and must learn to follow alignment and vibrato coordination. The
Orchestra is not so much my students as it is individual musicians practiced in the same old
style in order to share a unified tradition of performance with the audience. My own personal
style of play and performance evokes the old practice, focusing in producing an evolving sound
and special color imitating the human voice. When played correctly, the harmony of this
Orchestra speaks in a voice that echoes my formal education and the string tradition of the Old
Rusian School. The ultimate goal of this Orchestra is to capture the essence of this traditional
school in a smaller and more intimate environment. The beauty of this style is in its connection
to the past and that is what we, as a chamber orchestra, hope to convey in our performances.

What are the mainstays on which it is based and works the CCCO? And his repertoire, where it begins and where it ends?

Unlike most chamber orchestras, CCC Orchestra does not have a separate conductor. I act as
a performing conductor within the orchestra itself. This position allows me to continue playing
the violin while leading the direction of my fellow musicians. As a performing conductor, I am
able to utilize both my skills as a solo violinist and conductor to perform an extensive concerto
repertoire. My inclusion and navigation of the orchestra emphasizes our unified sound. Our
repertoire includes a number of music selections by Bach, Vivaldi, Mozart, Sarasate,
Tchaikovsky, Paganini, among others. These performances are also joined by personal
arrangements led by me playing the violin. Our repertoire is marked by its foundation in the old
Russian school of classical music and reflects sounds reminiscent of the Romantic era as well.
With a style founded in formal tradition, both CCC Orchestra and I seek to spread the legacy of
this style of music making.