Armenian Reporter International
September 30, 2006
Sahan Arzruni and Friends in a Tribute to Armenian Composers at Merkin
Concert Hall, September 17
By Harris Goldsmith
NEW YORK, NY – The fine pianist Sahan Arzruni presented a magnificent
tribute at Merkin Hall on September 17, 2006 with a lengthy concert to
celebrate Armenian Independence Day. To complement the music of ten Armenian
composers, Vardan Ajemyan, Alexander Arutiunyan, Levon Astvatsaturyan, Arno
Babadjanyan, Sargis Barkhudaryan, Gayane Chebotaryan, Geghuni Chitchyan,
Tigran Mansuryan, Edward Mirzoyan and Suren Zakaryan, the festivities also
included an exhibition of paintings by a group of Armenian artists in the
Merkin Hall gallery, to be viewed by audience members during the two
intermission periods.
First and foremost, Mr. Arzruni, a splendid pianist, was the hero of the
evening: Not only did he beguile with polished virtuoso technique, a
superior grasp of proportion and phrase shaping, and a plenitude of
temperament; he is also to be credited for choosing and bringing together
and outstanding roster of assisting artists (truly `Friends,’ not mere
colleagues).
While all of the music played was pleasing and of superior quality, one
curious aspect was that the aforementioned artwork showed far greater
diversity stylistically than the music items themselves. To explain this,
your reviewer guesses that, since most of the composers involved spent much
of their lives and careers during the years of Soviet domination, these
creators — though certainly `modern’ — tended to reflexively embrace the
quality of `User-friendliness’ that was persona grata to `People’s Socialist
Style.’ Conversely, I was more than a bit surprised to hear so few of the
stock-in-trade `Armenianisms’ commonly associated with Aram Khachaturian,
certainly the best known of his country’s generation. Conversely, Mirzoyan’s
`Album For My Granddaughter,’ composed in 1984, and Arutiunyan’s `Children’s
Album,’ vintage 2004, charming vignettes both, did evoke echoes of
Schumann’s `Album for the Young,’ Tchaikovsky’s `Children’s Pieces,’ and, of
course, the likeable Soviet contributions of Kabalevsky to the genre. The
opening of the program, Mirzoyan’s 1971 `Poem,’ the same composer’s 1967
`Sonata for Cello and Piano’ offered a more acerbic, spikier persona (the
Sonata was written for Rostropovich), and his `Four Chinese Songs,’ from
this very year, 2006, showed a most highly developed personality and
passionate style. Arutiunyan’s `Armenian Dance,’ his first published
composition, was written in 1935 when the composer was only 15.
Ajemyan’s `Fantasy for Tuba and Piano’ was composed in 1998 on a commission
from Harri Lidsle, the renowned Finnish tubist, who performed it in several
Scandinavian countries. The composer has described the work as `a range of
freely alternating diverse sections based on a single theme.’ The Fantasy
turned out to be an attractively `upbeat’ affair with nary a trace of the
bidlo-like ungainliness that many ipso facto expect of the lowest brass
instrument. Bin Love was the evening’s excellent protagonist. Lazar Saryan
(1920-1998) studied with both Kabelevsky and Shostakovich, and his `Three
Postludes’ (1990), like the foregoing Ajemyan tuba work, had its first
Western Hemisphere premiere at this concert, presented with somber eloquence
by Mr. Arzruni. But what particularly impressed me was Tigran Mansuryan’s
`Four Hayren for Viola and Piano’ (2005), inspired by the quatrains of
Nahapet Kuchak. It would be hard to imagine a performance more deeply felt
and compellingly personal than these magnificent players, Kim Kashkashian
and Sahan Arzruni, gave us. There is something about Mansuryan’s Orientally
tinged idiom that put me in mind with the best moments of Ernest Bloch’s
1919 `Suite for Viola and Piano.’
I was likewise deeply engrossed with the `Quasi Sonatina’ (1990) by
Zakaryan. It is elegantly tailored for the piano in three movements: 1.
Animato, 2. Quasi campanelli, and 3. Vivace. The second movement,
especially, had the inward intensity of Bartok’s quiet nature music, but I
also smelled (heard) traces of Ravel.
The Turkish-born Armenian composer, Levon Astvatsaturyan (1922-2003), and
his family moved to France when young Levon was only two, and therefore his
musical education in Marseille made him thoroughly cosmopolitan. He migrated
to Armenia in 1947 and soon began incorporating medieval Armenian music into
his work. Ergo, his 1970 `Prologue and Motet’ incorporates medieval Armenian
chants in a highly personal way. `Prologue,’ as the helpful program notes
told us, `is introspective and creates a satisfying foil to the outgoing
Motet. In both parts, the composer utilizes extremes of dynamics and range
of the instrument.’
Chitchyan’s `Two Images from Armenian Bas-Reliefs’ (1972) were likewise
based on medieval Armenian chants. Actually these Armenian bas reliefs
comprised a total of six dramatic pieces. The first of the two heard at this
concert is entitled `The Monastery in Geghard.’ Ms. Chitchyan is a graduate
of the Komitas State Conservatory, in the class of Yeghyazyan, and she began
teaching at the Saradjev Music School that same year. She is particularly
interested in music for children and has composed many works in that genre.
Her style is essentially lyrical.
Chebotaryan (1918-1998) was born in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, and studied
piano and composition at the Leningrad Conservatory (now in St. Petersburg).
We heard four of her `Six Preludes.’ `Each,’ according to the annotations,
`exploring a single compositional idea and painting one poetic mood…almost
improvisatory vignettes. Although Chebotaryan’s music incorporates certain
Armenian characteristics, it also manifests elements of the classic Russian
tradition. Her piano writing is wholly idiomatic for the instrument’
(translation: this writer was strongly reminded of Rachmaninoff!).
As previously noted, Mirzoyan’s `Sonata for Cello and Piano’ was a
characteristically bear-hugging vehicle as one might expect of its dedicatee
Rostropovich. Andre Emelianoff was a superb stand-in for the absent Slava!
The driving Allegro Finale was particularly energetic.
The concert culminated in a blaze of glory. Babadjanyan (1921-1983) was
probably the best known of these Armenian composers after Khachaturian, and
his `Piano Suite’ (1948-52), not unlike Rachmaninoff’s compositions, was
tailored to his demands and abilities as a virtuosi player (there are
references to Chopin and Liszt along with Rachmaninoff.). The `Armenian
Rhapsody’ (1950) and `Donagan/Festive’ (1962) were composed jointly by
Babadjanyan and Arutiunyan (shades of the `Yellow River Concerto’ of recent
memory. As Arutiunyan explained, according to the program notes once more,
`After I did my part, I would pass it on to Arno, and he would do his folk
song. We went back and forth like that.’ `Festive’ is an occasional piece
and a perfect example of the Soviet concept of `socialist realism’; rousing,
vivid music that reflected the life and struggles of the proletariat.’
Socialist realism or not, Festive’s instrumentation duplicates Bartok’s
`Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion.’
Wonjung Kim, the soprano, was magnificent in Mirzoyan’s `Chinese Songs’
(Spring; Summer; Autumn, and Winter); assisting pianists to Mr. Arzruni,
Cheryl Seltzer and Joel Sachs were equally invigorating; and the beautifully
costumed dancers of the Shushi Armenian Dance Ensemble enriched the
Barkhudaryan and Arutiunyan as a veritable feast for the eyes. And
percussionists Chris Thompson and Eric Poland made a delightful din.
The concert was further enhanced with a cordial reception replete with
pastries, fresh fruit and Armenian wines and brandies. And a glorious time
(as the old saying goes) was had by all….
—
Harris Goldsmith, a New York-based pianist and music critic, writes in
New York Times, New York Post, New York Concert Review, High Fidelity,
Keynote and Opus.