Khachaturian: Piano Concerto in D-Flat Major & Concerto-Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra

Featuring

Daniel Raiskin
Stepan Simonian
Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie
Aram Khachaturian

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Performer Biography

The Staatsorchester Rheinische Philharmonie, founded in 1654 as a court ensemble, has a history spanning over 350 years and is the cultural ambassador for Koblenz and its region.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Khachaturian's early works already displayed his unique style, characterized by rhythmic energy, lyrical melodies, dissonant harmonies, percussive accents, and a blend of fixed and improvisatory structures.

Performer Biography

Stepan Simonian, the pianist on this recording, won the Silver Medal at the prestigious International Johann-Sebastian-Bach Competition in Leipzig in 2010.

Composer Biography

Khachaturian learned to play the piano largely on his own on a dilapidated instrument his father bought, and he practiced rhythms on copper kettles in Tiflis, known as the "city of songs."

Performer Biography

Daniel Raiskin, the conductor, grew up in St. Petersburg as the son of a prominent musicologist and initially studied violin and viola before focusing on conducting.

Compositional Technique

Many of Khachaturian's themes, though sounding like authentic folk melodies, were either his own inventions or modifications of original folk material to suit larger compositions.

Composer Biography

Aram Khachaturian, born in Tiflis, Georgia, was nineteen when he moved to Moscow, initially pursuing studies in biology and working in a wine shop before dedicating himself to music.