The concert program with Aram Khachatryan's autograph is kept in the autograph collection of the National Library of Armenia. Khachatryan also drew a unique drawing on the program page next to his signature, reminiscent of an ex-libris. During the days of the 8th International Music Festival "Armenia", we present this exceptional example to the attention of our readers.

The concert program (booklet) was printed in Beirut in 1961, which shows that the world-famous composer gave a concert in Beirut that year. The program mentions that the conductor of the symphony concert is Aram Khachatryan, and the name of Sergio Petricaroli is mentioned among the soloists. On the page dedicated to him, there is an autograph of Sergio Petricaroli himself. The famous Italian pianist Petricaroli (1930-2019) performed in Egypt in 1959, performing Aram Khachatryan's piano concerto in the presence of the latter and receiving the attention of the great composer.

It was with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra that Petricaroli and Khachatryan performed in Beirut in 1961. The program indicates the day of the concert as May 14. According to an article published in the 2nd issue of the Art Magazine for 2023, in May 1961, Aram Khachatryan visited Beirut, “where on May 12, 13 and 14, three author’s concerts of the composer were held, and on May 17, a farewell concert was held, during which the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Aram Khachatryan, performed the composer’s symphonic works.” The same article notes that Aram Khachatryan’s visiting and concert activities in Lebanon played a major role in the development of Arab performing arts.

Without going into details, we note that the National Library of Armenia will continue to work on this topic. Follow other publications of the library.