Aram Khachaturian - Ode in Memory of Lenin; etc. (Loris Tjeknavorian)

Information

Composer: Aram Khachaturian

1. Lermontov Suite: I. Introduction (A Dirge for the Poet)
2. Lermontov Suite: II. Mazurka
3. Lermontov Suite: III. Valse
4. Lermontov Suite: IV. Intermezzo - Finale
5. Russian Fantasy
6. Ode in Memory of Lenin
7. Greeting Overture
8. Festive Poem

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Loris Tjeknavorian, conductor

Date: 1995

Label: ASV

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Review

Most of the music here is pretty second-rate and much of it is coarsely scored: the opening of the Lermontov Suite is dramatic but bombastic. The second movement “Mazurka” has something of the charm of Masquerade, and the “Valse”, too, has quite a good principal idea, though the scoring rapidly becomes inflated. The finale has that sinuous Armenian melodic flavour that works so well in the Violin Concerto, and it soon produces a lively tarantella-like “Lezghinka” to remind us of Gayaneh, and also of Rimsky-Korsakov, but the scoring towards the end is much less subtle than is characteristic of that master.

The Russian Fantasy has a rather striking, melancholy tune, like a folk-song, which is repeated until it outlasts its welcome, before the quickening at the end, which continues to repeat it, only faster! The Ode in memory of Lenin, based on a film score, is also repetitive, the scoring often blatant; it seems to be quite deeply felt but is over-extended. The Greeting Overture is mercifully shorter but undistinguished. The Festive Poem, which ends the concert, has some bright ideas but at nearly 20 minutes is hopelessly inflated.

The performances here are obviously strong and sympathetic. However, the recording, made (appropriately) in the reverberant Aram Khachaturian Hall in Yerevan, Armenia, and engineered by Brian Culverhouse, fails to flatter the music, and too often does nothing but exaggerate the coarseness of the orchestration.

— Ivan March

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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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