Hollywood actor John Malkovich said on Monday, October 9 that the issue of his visit to Armenia was discussed with chief SYOA conductor Sergey Smbatyan two years ago.

"The final decision was made this spring, and I was looking forward to this trip," said Malkovich who arrived in Yerevan on Monday.

According to Malkovich, the program he is supposed to perform at the festival was first introduced three years ago in South Korea.

"The composition is based on Alfred Schnittke's concerto for piano and orchestra. A excerpt from Ernesto Sabato's "On Heroes and Graves" was adapted for this concert," the Hollywood star said.

In turn, Smbatyan noted that the festival can already be considered successful.

"This is evidenced by the fact that John Malkovich is here today," the Armenian conductor said.