André Manoukian: "What interests me is to repair, to create harmony"

TV MAGAZINE - What does

"La fête de la chanson française" mean to you,

France 2

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André MANOUKIAN - These are spontaneous moments, I grab a piano in a corner and off we go for duets or trios that take up the great standards of French song, with an explanation and context.

“La fête de la chanson française” opened on France 2 with Charles Aznavour and Johnny Hallyday, absolute stars.

We owe all these moments to Daniela Lumbroso, a true lover of song, the most passionate producer I have ever met.

During our meetings, her eyes shine and she chooses the best technical teams, notably with Gérard Pullicino behind the camera.

For this number we have with us Benjamin Biolay, a Lyonnais like me but also Michel Polnareff, an extraordinary melodist, an incredible pianist,

“Faced with this world which is becoming communitarian, it is not useful to add to it.

I had my best concert in Turkey.

Like Orpheus, I like to create harmony in chaos”.

Andre Manoukian

Anouch

Personally, I am not obsessed with my roots.

I had my best concert in Turkey, in Istanbul.

What interests me is to repair, to create harmony, like Orpheus, to create harmony in chaos.

Faced with this world which is becoming communitarian, it is not useful to add to it.

Besides, when I was little, everything related to the Orient annoyed me a little, that meant excess, too much sugar, too much hysteria.

I only knew my grandmother's stuffed vine leaves.

Then as you get older, you say to yourself that it wasn't all that bad.

Armenia is also the story of a people caught between East and West.

“Armenia is not going well at the moment, I am encountering a bit of a busy news situation”.

Andre Manoukian

Between jazz, classical, flamenco and oriental sounds,

Sweet, sweet!

There is a very beautiful expression - which we say when someone goes on a trip, for example - which could be translated as "May this be sweet to you".

This is what I want to remember from my grandmother, whose destiny I discovered very recently.

Armenia not going well at the moment, I encounter a little busy news.

“My grandmother walked a thousand kilometers on foot from Turkey to the Syrian desert.

She lost her parents, a little boy and a little girl.

Andre Manoukian

How did you discover the fate of your paternal grandmother?

My father showed me a text written on a sheet of paper by his sister recounting the ordeal of my deported grandmother (the day after the outbreak of the Armenian genocide in April 1915, editor's note).

She walked a thousand kilometers on foot, from northern Turkey (Amasya) to the Syrian desert (Deir es-Zor).

She survived I don't know how.

She had the courage to speak to the Turkish commander, a very pious man who said his five prayers a day, and she said to him: “How can you, in the name of your religion, allow these horrors to pass?

".

She stirred him up and from that moment he assured her of his protection as long as he was the commander of the convoy.

My grandmother lost her parents and her children, a little girl and a little boy.

She smeared her cheeks with mud so as not to be removed.

Ultimately,

Is it because she chose life that she never spoke?

Yes because she chose life, that's it.

However, I remember his sad look.

I wanted to dedicate this fifth album that I made with Bulgarian singers to her.

You are now a columnist in

"Bel et bien"

France 2

"The secret life of songs"

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For the moment the reruns of "The Secret Life of Songs" are working well.

I don't know yet if I will continue because I am already at 8 seasons.

I am currently looking at the 20th anniversary of the "New star" for 2023, a flagship program of M6 which nevertheless launched Julien Doré, Camélia Jordana, Amel Bent or Christophe Willem... With Jean-François Zygel, we continue to improvise in concert.