Aram Khachaturian - Valencian Widow; Gayaneh Suites (Loris Tjeknavorian)

Information

Composer: Aram Khachaturian; Loris Tjeknavorian

• Khachaturian - The Valencian Widow, Suite
• Khachaturian - Gayaneh, Suite No. 2
• Tjeknavorian - Danses fantastiques

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra

Loris Tjeknavorian, conductor

Date: 1993

Label: ASV

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Review

The suite from Khachaturian's incidental music for The Widow of Valencia is a real find and one wonders why it has not appeared before. Given exposure it could become very popular. It is an early work (1940), yet already reveals the composer's fund of good tunes. He admitted its lack of authentic Spanishness and while the ''Introduction'' opens with flashing southern Mediterranean gusto, it soon makes way (0'44'') for a sultry Armenian melody of best local vintage. The ''Serenade'', too (charmingly scored), is sinuously characteristic of Khachaturian and the ''Song'' brings yet another gently voluptuous winding melody to remember. The ''Comic Dance'' is like Kabalevsky and then, at last, the dramatic tremolando opening of the ''Intermezzo'' momentarily suggests that Carmen herself is about to make her entrance. However, the full-throated tune of the strings (1'08''), which then emerges, is again as much Slavic as Latin. At 2'44'' a real Spanish dance bursts on the scene, though at the close of the movement the atmospheric chromaticism is almost Rimskian. The final dance is ambivalent, although its erupting energy is undoubtedly Russian.

However, why worry? Altogether this is a most winning suite, without a dull bar, piquantly scored and brilliantly presented by an orchestra who are completely at home and clearly enjoying themselves. They also give us another suite, comprising six indelible numbers—for the most part little known—from Khachaturian's masterpiece, Gayaneh. I particularly liked the ''Russian Dance'', which gradually generates a climax that starts from a simple 'tick-tock' opening. Tjeknavorian's own Danses fantastiques frequently burst with energy and are noisily scored in a sub-Khachaturian way (the short opening ''Danse rhythmique'' is a little like the ''Sabre Dance'' without the tune). The gentler dances, however, are quite engaging, especially the ''Danse gracieuse'' with its delicate pizzicatos; the ''Danses lyriques et elegiaques'' have that Armenian flavour so familiar in Gayaneh. Many Khachaturian fans will surely take to the work overall. Brilliant playing under a conductor who is completely at home in this music, while Brian Culverhouse's glittering yet spacious sound is flatteringly vivid.

— 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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