Loris Tjgnavoryan: "At the right time, I will return"

"As of now, I feel real well in Iran, and I don't have any plans to return," former conductor and artistic director of the Armenian symphony orchestra, Loris Tjgnavoryan, said at a press conference today. According to him, time will dictate everything, and "that time has to be the right one." To the journalists' questions as to why he left in the first place, the conductor didn't give a precise answer. "I wasn't offended about anything when I left. Here, I enjoyed the respect and love of the people, which I consider as an important gift, and the question you ask seems to get lost in that wonderful gift," he responded. Speaking about changing the national hymn, the conductor said he thought the hymn should have ties to our history. "The victories sung about in "Mer Hayrenik" have been reached, completed. We need to move forward," he said. Speaking about culture, the artist said that if we return to our culture, our roots, we will shine and become known, recognized, adding that the church needs to be involved in this question. We note that the conductor will soon celebrate his 70th birthday. He is now working on compiling a CD that will include all of his creations. The Iranian government is assisting in this endeavor. Tjgnavoryan has resided in Iran since 2000.