LW Orchestra will be joined by violinist who performed with Yanni
HOLIDAY CONCERT
by William Thompson
LW contributor
The Leisure World Orchestra’s holiday concert will be held Dec.13 in Clubhouse 2 at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to residents and the public.
Yanni won’t be here. However, one of the superstar New Age artist’s chief collaborators will be featured.
Yanni’s orchestral conductor during scores of tour concerts, Armen Anassian, will join Leisure World Orchestra pianist Yuri Lotakov to perform several piano/violin duets during the Dec. 13 concert.
Yanni fans may recognize Anassian from featured violin solos and duets he performed during Yanni’s live performances later broadcast on PBS. Yanni chose Anassian to conduct his 1994 World Tour orchestra, and was the violin soloist for the title track of Yanni’s album, “Tribute,” recorded at the Taj Mahal in 1997. The recording rose to No. 1 on the Billboard’s New Age Album chart and the resulting PBS video was certified as double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
In addition to performing in hundreds of concerts in Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas, Anassian is first violin for the orchestras of the Los Angeles Opera and the LA Ballet. He is also a busy studio musician, playing on sound tracks for film composers such as John Williams, Danny Elfman and Randy Newman.
Mutual 7 resident Lotakov’s deep ties in the Los Angeles musical community made Anassian’s appearance possible Lotakov and Anassian have known each other for decades and together helped form the Danza Trio.
Lotakov has his own impressive musical history. He performed his first formal concert as a 9-year-old boy and was enjoying a distinguished European performing career until he petitioned Soviet authorities to emigrate. His performance tours were halted and after a difficult two years, he made his way to Los Angeles. He and his wife, Luba, moved to Leisure World in 2020. His masterful performance of Grieg’s “Piano Concerto” at the orchestra’s June concert was greeted with a standing ovation.
During December’s concert, Anassian will team with Lotakov for two diverse dance music segments. They’ll perform Bartók’s energetic “Romanian Folk Dances,” and later play two dances written for stage productions by 20th-century Russian composer Alfred Schnittke. The performance will also include generous helpings of holiday-themed music by Handel, Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky, and well as familiar Christmas and Hanukkah tunes.
Violist Armen Anassian performing with Yanni during the taping of "Tribute" at the Taj Mahal in 1997.
