YEREVAN, JANUARY 19, NOYAN TAPAN. Sources of Armenian national music are very deep and rich but this music isn't engaged in propaganda, and the present generation grows up under distorted Kurdish and Turkish music. Hovhannes Chekijian, the Artistic Head and Conductor of the State Academic Choir of Armenia said about this at the January 19 meeting at the National Press Club. Today everybody sings, the master mentioned, but they don't understand what they sing, and works of Komitas, other Armenian composers are served in distorted version: "A lot of money is spent on those songs, clips are shot, whilemean the Armenian national music is buried in oblivion in this way." And state choirs can't present their art to Armenian spectators because of absence of financial resources. "State patronage is first of all necessary for keeping the national music, if the state doesn't support this mess will continue, and further generations won't differ Armenian music from Kurdish one," the maestro emphasized. At the same time, he mentioned, there are young people who occupy themselves with classic music but they make a low per cent. Hovhannes Chekijian also touched upon activity promoted by the RA Ministry of Culture and by Ministers. According to him, it's unknown what the Ministry of Culture does, whilemean this is a ministry which must be seriously approached. A Minister of Culture, according to him, must have an organization vein. "It's desirable that one who has done something for the nation becomes the Minister, but he hasn't to be an artist. But in Armenia, a man who has done nothing becomes a Minister, that's why we change the Minister of Culture every year," the maestro emphasized.

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