In October 2019, the European Foundation for Support of Culture and the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra presented a tour of three cities in Sicily.
Maestro Sergey Smbatyan, the Honored Artist of the Republic of Armenia, founded the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra (ASSO) in 2005. The Orchestra has now gained global renown and performs at the best concert venues both in Armenia and abroad: in Germany, France, Russia, Belgium, China, the Netherlands, Italy, Lebanon and many other countries. It has performed at Opera Garnier (Paris), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Dr. Anton Philipszaal (Hague), Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels), Tchaikovsky Philharmonic Concert Hall, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, etc.
The Orchestra has participated in many international festivals, including Moscow Easter Festival (Moscow, Russia), YOUNG.EURO.CLASSIC (Berlin, Germany), Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival (Warsaw, Poland), and many others. In addition, the ASSO has been the resident orchestra at the Aram Khachaturian International Competition (since 2007); it was the resident Orchestra of the Musica Riva International Festival (2013, Riva del Garda, Italy), the 9th Frederic Chopin International Competition for Young Pianists (2014, Foshan, China), the Al Bustan International Festival (2014, 2015, 2016, Beirut, Lebanon), Malta International Music Festival (2018), etc.
The Orchestra’s extensive repertoire ranges from classical to contemporary music. In 2011, the ASSO, led by its artistic director and principal conductor Sergey Smbatyan, released its first CD “Music is the Answer” featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Shostakovich and Eduard Airapetian recorded at a SONY studio.
The Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Sergey Smbatyan, gave a concert series in Sicily, Italy together with the world acclaimed pianists: Freddy Kempf, winner of the prestigious Classical BRIT Awards, Honorary Doctor of Music at Kent University (Great Britain), winner and award recipient of many international competitions, including the Tchaikovsky International Competition, and Gloria Campaner, laureate of several international competitions such as the Paderewski International Piano Competition, the Ibla Grand Prize, the XI Concours International de Musique du Maroc in Casablanca, and the Cultural Foundation Pro Europa in Freiburg.
The concert programmes featured popular works by Armenian composers Arutiunian, Hovhannisyan, Saryan, Ter-Tadevossian, Komitas, Khachaturian as well as works by European composers – Beethoven and Composer-in-residence for ASSO Alexey Shor.