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Monday, 12 April 2004
Many strings (Shoghaken Ensemble and League of Crafty Guitarists) ::
Saturday I saw the Shoghaken Ensemble, an Armenian folk ensemble, in Santa Cruz. In a pre-concert talk given by Harold Hagopian, the group’s producer and manager, he mentioned that he rarely interfered with his artists’ musical decisions, but he insisted that they play a piece featuring the kanon, a lap harp with 72 strings played by Karine Hovhannisyan. I saw why; I enjoyed the concert overall, but this piece stole the show for me—from the first notes, I was enthralled, my jaw on the floor, at such a display of virtuosity on such a beautiful-sounding instrument. ...