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Chandos
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Aram
Il’yich Khachaturian
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Violin
Concerto in D minor (1940) Cello Concerto Khachaturian belongs to the middle generation of Soviet-Russian composers whose careers became a search for a style that could achieve some sort of modus vivendi within the requirements of Stalin's 'Socialist Realism'. |
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Accessibility, tunefulness, clear-cut forms, optimistic expression, a traditional orientation towards the great Russian classics of the nineteenth century – these were the kinds of qualities that came to be expected of Soviet music if it was to meet with the approval of those appointed by Stalin to keep a watchful eye on such matters. As a pupil of the highly regarded Myaskovsky, Khachaturian came to enjoy a successful and uncontroversial career, although he found himself on the receiving end of accusations of 'formalism'. He hardly deserved it, for – unlike the more complex and enigmatic genius of Shostakovich or the truant non-conformism of Prokofiev – his natural bent was towards the kind of music that Socialist Realism approved of. His was a skilfully crafted, folk-melody type of expression in the traditions of Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and Tchaikovsky. Khachaturian's Violin Concerto was composed in 1940. It was almost immediately awarded a Stalin prize. Its instant appeal lies in its lyricism (influenced by the intonations of Khachaturian's native Armenia), its solid traditional forms, colourful orchestration and dazzling virtuosity. Khachaturian learned the cello as a student and wrote idiomatically for the instrument. His Cello Concerto belongs to a decade in which he also produced his Violin Concerto and the ballet Gayane with its celebrated 'Sabre Dance'. Like the ballet, the concerto reflects his native Armenian folk style: indeed Shostakovich once wrote that 'the folk idiom of his music is evident in all his compositions'. |
