Loris Margaritis

Borodin’s First Symphony isn’t especially interesting, but his Second is a masterpiece, tightly constructed, brilliantly orchestrated, and tunefully delightful. It’s really the only work of its period to rank with the symphonies of Tchaikovsky (along with, possibly, Balakirev’s First), and Tjeknavorian’s performance of it, indeed of all three works, is outstanding. He doesn’t fuss with or manipulate tempos or textures, preferring instead to keep the music moving energetically and allowing the musicians of the National Philharmonic to inject as much color and vitality as possible. The scherzo flashes by like lightning, the slow movement is aptly seductive, and the finale dazzles. As I suggested, the other two works are less obviously successful, but the performances are no less adept. Produced by Charles Gerhardt, we can expect fine sonics, and that’s just what RCA delivers. In this music, you won’t find better.

Great composers of Armenia are reunited under this great CD to capture the essence their country! Great choice and great result! A must have for any people who love Armenia and is beautyful music!

These young musicians from Egypt, Turkey, Portugal and Italy bridge the distance between the shores and sonic worlds of a rapidly changing region. Their first album, recorded in Paris, blends both timbres and backgrounds in a unique artistic collaboration with Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, supported by Abu Dhabi Festival. The composition process is a compromise between the written score — the notes on the stave — with an exclusively oral tradition, in which the theme is developed only by those taking part, first by listening to it and then by repeating it. Their music is influenced by the folk music of each country and by much improvisation and jazz, and uses melodies from the European classical tradition blended with rhythms and instruments of the Middle East.

The discovery of Rebels (1666-1747) Dance Symphonies, a genre mixing dance and pantomime in which the narration is delivered by the dancer alone, was a defining moment in the passion of harpsichordist duo Loris Barrucand and Clément Geoffroy. Rebel, the author of a single Lyric Tragedy, Ulysse (1703), and Elémens (1737) a suite of symphonies famed for its initial Chaos, was first and foremost a composer of symphonies that were made to be danced. Among them is Les Caractères de la Danse (1715), an uninterrupted succession of fourteen dances that enjoyed a dazzling success. Remaining faithful to his time, Rebel intended for them to be played like a piece on the harpsichord.

The East and its Thousand and One Nights (published in France in 1717) were a fantasy of French opera, and Rameau wrote on this theme for three decades. Far from merely shifting the action to the mysterious lands of “Persia” with its cruel yet salacious customs, the composer amplified the personalities of its characters and made their music sparkle more than ever. The Suites taken from Rameau’s greatest masterpieces, from Les Indes galantes to Les Boréades, are reproduced with great energy by the two virtuoso harpsichords of Clément Geoffroy and Loris Barrucand. The century of Louis XV dances to the rhythm of the tambourins, sizzling irresistibly with "savages", flowers, pleasures and infernal spirits.

Easily the finest account of Khachaturian’s Piano Concerto since Moura Lympany’s pioneering recording under Fistoulari (Decca, 3/53 – nla), this new version on ASV is the one to have. Dora Serviarian-Kuhn and her Armenian compatriot, Loris Tjeknavorian are in every way first-class: both identify naturally with the sinuous oriental flavour of the melodic lines and understand – as did Lympany and, in America in 1946, William Kapell (RCA, 5/95) – that the outer movements need above all to convey thrusting vitality. (Remember that the first Moscow performance – which delighted the composer – was by the Russian virtuoso, Lev Oborin.) Here there is plenty of drive and rhythmic lift in the outer movements.

Entering the Café Zimmermann in Leipzig in the 1730s, it was not uncommon to be able to attend concerts organized by the famous Johann Sebastian Bach surrounded by his sons and friends. On the menu: coffee, liqueurs and pastries, sonatas and concerti! During the summer, escaping the heat, amateurs and virtuosos gathered in the gardens of the Porte de Grimma to enjoy the mildness of the evening. By offering new transcriptions for two harpsichords of concertos by Bach and Vivaldi, Loris Barrucand and Clément Geoffroy invite us to renew our view of this music which is by turns scholarly and flamboyant. Under the lime trees of Leipzig, a cup of coffee in hand, the great Bach awaits you!

Symphony No. 2 "The Bell" is a 1993 ASV recording starring the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Loris Tjeknavorian. Robert Mathew-Walker has written the music notes. One can definitely hear the influences from Stravinsky. The pace is right on the mark and one feels that Tjeknavorian understands Khachaturian's music. A very recording indeed.

Spartacus has all the color and brash, brazen energy of Gayaneh, and is molded in the same, folk-like, flowing idiom but doesn't always steer clear of banality. Still there are lots of memorably ideas and exciting twists and turns, culminating, perhaps, in the famous Adagio with its poignant tune. Yet the ballet - at least the three suites here (I haven't honestly heard more) - is inventive enough and sufficiently imaginatively scored to keep one's attention throughout.

Anyone that knows the music of Khachaturian will not be surprised to hear that his music on this CD, conducted by countryman Loris Tjeknavorian and the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, is full throated and exciting. What is equally excellent is the suite of dances from Tjeknavorian's own music that accompanies the Khachaturian on this disk.