21st Century Conductor

More to come about my second visit to Armenia and the concert with the Armenian Philharmonic on the 8th October, but this review just through with annotations and corrections in brackets by me!

Alexander Arutiunian (born 1920, the same year as the modern Armenian state) is world renowned in classical music for his trumpet concerto, but the programme for this concert had the lesser known Variations for Trumpet and Orchestra, which you can find on the link below.  When I was offered this concert, hot on the heels of my first successful visit to Armenia to conduct the Armenian Philharmonic in January (see also American University of Armenia in this blog archived under 15th - 21st August), I am ashamed to say I had never heard of the composer, who won Stalin's first prize for music at the age of 28, and who went on to artistically direct the Armenian Philharmonic for 35 years.

“The Ether” weekly                                     20 October 2005

The Armenian classic and purely English (SCOTTISH or BRITISH!) performaNce

Finally, the series of concerts dedicated to the 85^th anniversary of Alexander Arutiunian reached its culmination. On 8 October, a highly remarkable concert took place in the Philharmonic concert hall after Aram Khatchatryan.

The best compositions of Alexander Arutiunian were played - Symphony for big symphonic orchestra, "full-scale", with emphasized patriotism, dedicated to the heros of the Second World War, at the same time reminding the distant past, poetically elevated and light.  variations for trumpet and orchetra - a virtuoso composition, which inventively demonstrates the intriguing game of the instrument with orchestra. Youthfully fervent Concertino for piano with orchestra and poetical Concerto Waltz.  Each of these compositions is an achievement of the composer within a specific genre and style. The Symphony, written in 1957, was an event of its time.

In all these genres Alexander Arutiunian has had a significant role to play. Perfectly educated, endowed by divine qualities of a true musician, brilliant pianist, master of the orchestral writing, for many years he has been creating compositions which were leading pieces of Armenian music. He keenly felt his time and was specifically responsive in that respect. He created compositions which, to the fullest extent, belonged to his time. His music even contained a poetic and elevated reflection of rather prosaic concepts of Soviet society. In the captivating allegros of his instrumental compositions the audience was catching the dynamic rhythms of the current time; his contemplative adagios praised the theme of admiration for the beloved country that was so characteristic of that time.

Alexander Arutiunian was always an actively writing composer. Practically, his creations covered all the genres. Symphony, instrumental concertos, compositions for piano, opera “Sayat-Nova”, which was staged in the Yerevan State Theater of Opera and Ballet in 1969. His music was always true to itself, it was based on the traditions which have been and still are unshakable for him. At the same time, he had the skills to remain always up to date for the best leading performers of the world. The Concerto for the Tuba with Orchestra was performed in 1995 at a prestigious International Music Festival in Finland by a well-known tuba player Harry Lindsle.  A year later he was invited to Yerevan where he played the same Concerto. The impression was profound. Arutiunian remained truthful to himself, and yet he sounded incredibly modern, even avant-guard. A secret of creation, and art in general, where there is no old and new, obsolete and modern: there is talented utterance, addressed to the contemporaries…

 Alexander Arutiunian’s anniversary Concert revealed today that not only composer’s work but also the performance can be modern. This was what fascinated us throughout the entire concert evening of 8 October. The concert was led by a British conductor– Paul MacAlindin, the trumpet part in the Variations for the Trumpet with Orchestra was also performed by a musician from London – Alistair Mackie, the concertmaster of the brass group of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (actually principal trumpet of the Philharmonia Orchestra in London and fellow alumnus of Surrey University). The musicians invited from London demonstrated the highest class in terms of their perception of the Armenian composer, who has been one of the most remarkable representatives of the Soviet Social realistic art. And Alexander Arutiunian’s compositions twinkled and shined as the best samples of Soviet painting would sparkle in the Sotheby’s auction. This was a demonstration of the highest level of creativity, revealing to us the achievements of our art. The piano part of the concertino for the Piano with Orchestra, conducted by Paul MacAlindin, was performed by Arutiunian’s daughter – Narine Arutiunian, who is living in London…

Must we wait for foreign performers to assess the Armenian music? Most probably, this is what will happen in the near future. Why this has to happen – is another story…

We, on our part, express our admiration of the British musicians, in particular – the conductor, whose conducting made the orchestra sounds sparkle as diamonds spread in Ali Baba’s cave. Perhaps he knew the password to reveal these treasures, or maybe the purely British, brilliant, comprehensive education and respect for true values of music art is sufficient?

 Margarita Rukhikyan 

Symphony 1957 rev. 1980

As a brief postscript to the review, it's worth mentioning a couple of points about the symphony.  Written in 1957, revised in 1980, it's the voice of a young, brilliant man, infuenced by Shostakovich and soviet realism, but without the biting, bitter overtones. The revision, which most significantly replaced the "classical" close of the first movement with an enigmatic fadeout by clarinet and timpani,  makes the 4 movements "rhyme", that is, each ends with a fade to nothing, the last movement particularly building up to a huge climax which Arutiunian cuts dead and dissipates into a stark hanging augmented 4th questionmark.  One can look at the context a little and fantasize about what that questionmark stands for.

In 1953, Stalin died, and his successor Khrushchev immediately began his reform of the Soviet Union. He sent his envoy, Anastas Mikoyan, to Yerevan in 1954 to reverse Stalin's antinational policy in the local communist party. After years of being denied their Armenian identity under Stalin's rule, many artists found themselves free to express themselves in nationalist terms, and those who had survived the gulags (soviet prison camp system) returned to their homeland with stories of torture and deprivation. Knowing that there had been a major uprising in the streets of Yerevan in 1954, I put it to him that the last movement was an image of the people marching against the soviet party headquarters, to which he wryly laughed.

Arutiunian himself claims not to have been in conflict with the party regarding his nationalist writing, and the symphony clearly rejoices in gorgeous folk-flavoured melodies and rhythms. The second subject of the first movement is a classic example of Arutiunian's well loved talent for producing sweeping melodies and the scherzo, alternating 5/8 and 6/8, is particularly brilliant. In each movement, the force of militarism surfaces and plays a key role in generating the musical conflict in this war symphony. But which war? The second movement directly quotes and is based upon an Armenian folk song about the 1915 genocide. This theme, underpinned by the shadow of Ravel's Bolero, returns in the last movement.

Arutiunian chose not the concious hollowness of Shostakovich and Mahler in closing his only symphony, but he did, thoughtfully, find another way to leave us on the edge of silence, having felt the joy and sorrow of the Armenian soul, to wonder where on earth one is supposed to go from here.

http://www.trumpetlagoon.com/1220114.html

www.apo.am