Aram Khachaturian - Gayne; etc. (Loris Tjeknavorian)

Information

Composer: Aram Khachaturian

• The Gayne Ballet
• Selections from Spartacus
• Masquerade Suite
• Russian Fantasy

National Philharmonic Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

Loris Tjeknavorian, conductor

Date: 1976; 1981

Label: RCA

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Review

This celebrated recording of the almost-complete Gayne finally makes it to CD, and it’s as fresh and exciting as you may remember. About 75 percent of the total score is here, as much as anyone really needs, arranged in optimal sequence for home listening. This makes perfect sense in a ballet whose plot hinges on the heroine ratting out her drunkard husband for sabotage of the collective farming effort (as if it needed any help to fail). There’s also a thrilling sub-plot about a blind hunter who miraculously regains his sight in time to participate once again in the creation of the people’s utopia.

Of course, the nicest thing about Khachaturian’s music is that none of it pays the slightest heed to the above scenario: it’s straight Romantic nationalism, and all of your favorite numbers, including the Saber Dance and the Lezghinka, come off brilliantly in impactful but somewhat glassy sonics. Loris Tjeknavorian and the National Philharmonic pick-up orchestra clearly are having a terrific time. The excerpts from Spartacus (Danse with Crotales, Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia, Bacchanale, Spartacus’ Victory) and the Masquerade Suite have just as much oomph, and are even better engineered. Major league fun! [4/23/2005]

— David Hurwitz

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Aram Khachaturian (6 June 1903 – 1 May 1978) was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, he studied at the Gnessin Musical Institute and the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Myaskovsky, among others. As a young composer, he was influenced by contemporary Western music, particularly that of Maurice Ravel. In his Symphony No. 1 and later works, this influence was supplanted by a growing appreciation of folk traditions. His other works include Symphonies No. 2 & No. 3, the symphonic suite Masquerade, the ballet Spartacus, concertos, as well as film scores and incidental music.

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Loris Tjeknavorian (born 13 October 1937) is an Iranian Armenian composer and conductor. Born in Boroujerd, Iran, to an Armenian‑immigrant family, he pursued advanced musical studies at the Vienna Academy of Music, the Salzburg Mozarteum with Carl Orff, and the University of Michigan. As a conductor, Tjeknavorian has toured extensively across Europe, the Americas and beyond, conducting leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera. His compositional output exceeds sixty works, including symphonies, operas, chamber music and ballet.

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