Pianist Şahan Arzruni, a prominent figure in the Armenian community of Turkey, was found dead at his home in New York. According to media reports, Arzruni’s body was discovered at his residence in Manhattan. No statement has yet been made regarding the cause of his death. Arzruni, who passed away at the age of 83, most recently released the album By Women: Piano Works by Armenian Women Composers, featuring his interpretations of works by Armenian women composers.
Arzruni was born in Istanbul in 1943. His aunt, composer Sirvart Kalpakyan Karamanuk, encouraged him to play the piano when he was four years old, and he began performing in public at the age of five. He completed his primary and secondary education at Esayan School and attended Getronagan High School. He graduated from the Istanbul Municipal Conservatory (now known as the Istanbul University State Conservatory), where he studied piano with Ferdi Ştatzer and harmony with Raşit Abed.
In 1964, at just 21 years old, he moved to New York City on a scholarship from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to study at the Juilliard School, which offers undergraduate and graduate-level education in music, drama, and dance. He received his bachelor’s degree in 1967 and his master’s degree in 1968.
Honorary professor
Arzruni conducted research into the musical roots of Armenian heritage. He studied traditional Armenian music and recorded a three-CD anthology of Armenian piano music. In 2008, he was awarded the title of Honorary Professor by the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan in Armenia.
In 2016, he was awarded Armenia’s highest cultural honor, the Presidential Movses Khorenatsi Medal, by President Serzh Sargsyan.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Şahan Arzruni curated a series of online mini-concerts titled Together for Armenia to raise financial assistance for Armenia.
