Aram Khachaturian - Symphonies Nos. 1 & 3 (Loris Tjeknavorian)

Information

Composer: Aram Khachaturian

• Symphony No. 1 in E minor
• Symphony No. 3 in C major (in one movement)

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Loris Tjeknavorian, conductor

Date: 1993

Label: ASV

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Review

For many people, the Armenian composer Khachaturian exists only through the intervention of the BBC, who chose a fragment from the ballet Spartacus as theme music for The Onedin Line. Those delving into his symphonic output in the hope of unearthing more swashbuckling lyricism in the same vein would do well to remember the other morsel for which this composer is famous: the barbed and cacophonous ‘Sabre Dance’ from Gayane – two minutes of controlled vehemence without equal in the orchestral repertoire.

That said, the three symphonies contain elements of so many different styles that anyone with a moderately broad taste and an enthusiasm for the indulgences of 20th-century Soviet symphonists is bound to find, somewhere in the cycle, music to suit any occasion or mood. The bleakness of the Second Symphony will strike a chord with Shostakovich fans, even if Khachaturian cannot match either the intellectual rigour or sheer brute force of the younger (by three years) composer. The influence of Armenian folk music is particularly apparent in the First Symphony, where spasms of melody are treated with an oriental skirl and flourish. The triumphalism of the last symphony, subtitled a ‘Symphony-Poem’, with additional parts for organ and 15 trumpets, is simply bizarre.

Few could be better qualified to deal with these ungainly monsters than Loris Tjeknavorian and the Armenian Philharmonic. At the expense of subtlety they stride through the music with heavy, confident tread. But, sadly, much of the exoticism is lost. The mysterious convolutions and cadences of eastern music are always present, but swamped by unhelpful orchestration and an unsympathetic balance. Perhaps an orchestra from the western side of the Caucasus would better appreciate these subtleties and so convey them more effectively.

— Christopher Lambton

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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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