Concert by the Komitas Duo

The Komitas Duo, consisting of Egon Buchner (cello) and Hasmik Sarukian (piano), was founded in 2025 at the Mainz University of Music. It brings together two young musicians who share a passion for chamber music collaboration and thematically well-thought-out programmes.

Working with Thomas Hell and Daniel Geiss, the duo gained valuable artistic inspiration that helped them develop their chamber music skills. Shortly after it was formed, the ensemble won second prize at the 10th Wolfgang Meyer European Chamber Music Competition in Karlsruhe. Since 2026, the duo has been one of the ensembles supported by the Friends of Young Musicians Mainz–Wiesbaden. In the same year, it was invited to the Schaffhausen Master Classes, where it worked with internationally renowned artists such as Wen-Sinn Yang and Kathryn Stott. The ensemble has performed at venues including the Kalkhof-Rose concert hall of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz and the Wolfgang-Rihm-Saal in Karlsruhe; in the current season, it can also be heard at the Jagdschloss Bickenbach as part of the Bickenbach Chamber Concert series. Further concerts have taken the duo from Frankfurt to Switzerland.

The duo's name is reminiscent of the Armenian composer Komitas Vardapet (1869–1935), whose work is deeply rooted in the folk music of his homeland and at the same time embodies the loss and spiritual resilience of an entire culture. In this spirit, the ensemble understands music as an expression of memory and identity.

The concert programme “Homeland and Exile” is dedicated to a central experience of the first half of the 20th century: the tension between cultural roots and forced or voluntary exile. Political upheavals, displacement and new beginnings shaped the biographies of many composers – and are reflected in their works in their own unique ways.
Starting with Komitas Vardapet's preservation of Armenian folk melodies, a musical arc unfolds via Leó Weiner and Zoltán Kodály, who developed national traditions in different ways. Arthur Honegger and Paul Hindemith represent a generation that responded to the political challenges of their time with stylistic concentration and a new objectivity. Finally, Bohuslav Martinů is exemplary for creative work in exile: his variations on a theme by Rossini combine virtuosity with a subliminal existential tension.

Entry is free. If you enjoyed the concert, we would appreciate a donation. The donation box is located to the right of the entrance to the Kalkhof-Rose concert hall.

We kindly request that you register in advance. Admission tickets will be available from 8:00 a.m. on 4 March 2026 at this link.

Invitation flyer

Important note: There is usually a long waiting list for events held by the Academy in the Kalkhof-Rose concert hall. We therefore urge you to cancel in good time if you are unable to attend after confirming your participation. This is the only way we can adequately manage the waiting list. At the same time, we ask for your understanding that if you do not attend without giving prior notice, we will not be able to issue tickets to you in future.