Reviews

ARMENIAN RHAPSODY

(Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Eduard Topchjan, BIS Records)

Aram Khachaturian: Rhapsody for cello and orchestra, Suren Sakaryan: Monograph for cello and orchestra, Vache Sharafyan: Suite for cello and orchestra, Komitas: Krounk

Soloist: Alexander Chaushian

Conductor: Eduard Topchjan

Independent. 19 November, 2011

Album of the Week

Armenian Rhapsody

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Eduard Topchjan (Bis)

This beautifully performed concert with cellist Alexander Chaushian includes a new work by Vache Sharafyan and also Monograph, an exquisite chamber work by Suren Zaqaryan that begins with an extraordinary three minute piece of free association for cello. Armenian music was never better served.

Michael Church

Album review:

Cellist Alexander Chaushian is wonderful artist with excellent technique and musicianship, conveying a wide range of emotions and styles of music. The Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Eduard Topchjan is an excellent accompaniment to the cellist, equally capable of evoking many emotions through their technically solid and artistically superior musicianship. Arguably the most enjoyable work on the album is Khachaturian‘s Concerto-Rhapsody, with its lush orchestral beginning that gives way to a cello solo which is rather like, unusually, a cadenza at the beginning of the work. One hears a distinctly non-European tonality (somewhat like Indian classical music) with haunting melodies and a repeated, pleading motif throughout the work. It is emotionally stirring, and both the orchestra and soloist bring out strong dynamic and stylistic contrasts. The orchestra manages to play precisely, and yet the sound is still lyrical and smooth.Chaushian is as agile as a violinist, for he makes the cello seem effortless. Suren Zakarian‘s piece for cello and chamber orchestra is quite a contrast to Khachaturian‘s. From the beginning, with its long, tense, highly vibrated notes, the listener is unclear about the tonality. It’s almost disconcerting, even after the orchestra enters. The orchestra plays a drone tone behind the cello, and sometimes this is quite a trial to hear. Zakarian is working with tone colors and moods, alternating passages where the cello is allowed to sing out (this is quite nice to hear), and low, murky, dark passages. This is no reflection on the musicians, but rather a comment on the accessibility of the piece. The same could be said for moments in Vache Sharafyan‘s Suite for cello and orchestra, where sometimes the cello line is so entwined with the orchestra in the first movement that it is hard to hear, and it can sound rather cacophonous. However, the second movement features light, ethereal strings and a liquid, singing cello, and the third movement, a Sarabande, allows the cello to become impassioned and then dramatically drops into silence. The final piece on the album, Krunk (Crane), is fascinating; it introduces the woodwind instrument called the duduk. The entrancing, mysterious beginning creates a sense of melancholy that pervades the work, and the three voices intertwine so smoothly, shimmering. So while some of the music may not be to everyone’s taste, it is still a wonderful album with unquestionably excellent musicians showcasing the best of their culture. ~ V.

Vasan, Rovi

Concerto: The Strad SELECTION

KHACHATURIAN: Violin Concerto, SHOSTAKOVICH: Violin Concerto no. 1

Soloist: Catherine Manoukian (violin) 
Conductor: Eduard Topchjan

This uplifting performance of Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto, one of the undoubted masterpiece of the 20th century repertoire, comes from musicians associated with the composer’s homeland. The Armenian orchestra’s playing is stylish and rhythmically finessed, with some especially beguiling woodwind. Eduard Topchjan keeps his forces admirably controlled, allowing space for the violin soloist to shine. There are vibrant and vital passages for the orchestral strings, especially after the soloist’s cadenza – launched by an exquisite dialogue with the clarinet- and in the Andante sostenuto, where middle strings play plaintively above pizzicato cellos and double basses.

Canadian-born Catherine Manoukian is an eloquent exponent of this appetising work. Her tone is pure, with nicely understated vibrato, and her playing throughout is gorgeously expressive. The gentle lilt of Khachaturian’s high-flying melodic lines, not least in the berceuse-like Andante, comes across almost effortlessly„ as if the violin were floating on an oriental carpet of air, swayed here and there by gentle breezes, until the spirited finale calls forth a more vigorous tone. All in all, a scintillatingly good performance, splendidly captured.

The Shostakovich begins in sombre vein, with atmospheric orchestral strings. The first movement, shrouded in mystery, is brilliantly sustained. The solo line comes over admirably, not least when engaging in sad dialogue with dark lower woodwind. A gutsy Scherzo follows, before the intense, varied Passacaglia, to which Manoukian’s involvement and restraint lend added power. The prolonged cadenza is superbly executed and the jaunty closing Burlesque is brilliantly played. All in all, an exciting, beautifully recorded disc.

Marquis
RODERICK DUNNETT

***

“The ensemble proved to be a warm-toned, well-disciplined, highly capable body, with, in particular, a string section of burnished tonal sheen.”

The New York Post

***

“The glory of the orchestra is its string section…  This was rich, colorful,fullthroated sound, a choir of sound.”

The Boston Globe

***

“The repertoire was obviously chosen to show the orchestra’s strengths … it plays Shostakovich  and the rest of its program with enormous impact.”

Joseph McLellan,

The Washington Post

A.Khachaturian – 3 Symphonies, ASV CD)

” …recordings of the three symphonies of Aram Khachaturian gives us the first comprehensive overview of Khachaturian’s symphonic output. The performances are first-class and the recorded sound is what all three works have long needed.”

Fanfare

Khachaturian: The Vidow of Valencia-Suite Gayaneh- Suite No.2

Tjeknavorian: Danses Fantastique

ASV CD

“Many Khachaturian fans will surely take to the work overall. Brilliant playing under a conductor who is completely at home in this music, while B.C’s glittering yet spacious sound is flatteringly vivid.”

Gramophone

Scheherazade – ASV CD

“On ASV a refreshing and totally gripping new-look recording of Scheherazade from Eastern Russia. The brilliant recording has great vividness and projection… it suites the performance admirably.”

Penguin Guide
                      

  ***

“The new recording from ASV…features a passionate performance from the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra.… They have been giving outstanding concerts for 65 years and this Scheherazade is very well worth examining. A companion disc, also from ASV, brings the same forces with orchestral suites from three of Rimsky-Korsakov operas….. This is a totally magic collection of the best Rimsky-Korsakov.”

“The Mail”, Hartlepool

***

Prokofiev: Romeo&Juliet, Suites

ASV CD

“A very enjoyable and eminently recommendable disc.”