Jivan Gasparyan – Master of duduk, Armenian musician and composer, People’s Artist of Armenia
October 12, 1928 – July 6, 2021
Jivan Gasparyan (Djivan Gasparyan), Armenian: Ջիվան Գասպարյան,
Born in Solak, Armenia to parents from Mush, Jivan Gasparyan started to play duduk when he was six.
In 1948, he became a soloist of the Armenian Song and Dance Popular Ensemble and the Yerevan Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has won four medals at UNESCO worldwide competitions (1959, 1962, 1973, and 1980).
In 1973 Jivan Gasparyan was awarded the honorary title People’s Artist of Armenia.
In 2002, he received the WOMEX (World Music Expo) Lifetime Achievement Award. He is a Honorary citizen of Yerevan.
A professor at the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory, he has instructed and nurtured many performers to professional levels of performance in duduk.
In 1998 he released an album with a unique duduk quartet he formed.
He has toured the world several times with a small ensemble playing Armenian folk music. His music has been chosen on the soundtrack of several international films.
He also recorded with the Kronos Quartet and the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Jivan Gasparyan passed away on July 6, 2021 at the age of 92.