This album, titled "An Armenian Palette," features piano works by six Armenian composers and includes several world premiere recordings.
Historical Context
After the Armenian Genocide (1914-23), Armenian musicians united around the Yerevan State Conservatory to create a defining musical picture for 20th-century Armenia.
Composition History
Tigran Mansurian's "Three Pieces" was a bold and courageous avant-garde work, considering the Soviet Union's propaganda against Western culture at the time it was composed.
Composer's Artistic Vision
The album aims to comprehensively display 20th-century Armenian compositional tendencies, including national traits, Soviet music school characteristics, and avant-garde techniques.
Performer Biography
Hayk Melikyan, the pianist on this album, is an internationally recognized Armenian musician who has received a Gold Medal from the Moscow Composers Union and the title of Honoured Artist of the Republic of Armenia.
Recording & Production
This album was recorded in April 2020 at the Komitas Museum-Institute in Yerevan, Armenia, using a Shigeru Kawai Concert Grand Piano.
Composer Biography
Lazar Sarian, one of the featured composers, studied at the Moscow State Conservatory with Dmitry Shostakovich, but graduated under Dmitry Kabalevsky after Shostakovich was denounced as a formalist.
