Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra Plays Carnegie Hall, Presented by CLASSIC MUSIC TV

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Reviews

Published on Monday, 04 December 2023 14:22

Written by Jack Angstreich

Photo from Classic Music TV.

At Carnegie Hall, on the evening of Wednesday, November 15th, I had the pleasure of attending a splendid concert—presented by Classic Music TV—featuring the Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra under the distinguished direction of Edward Tophjan.

The program opened brilliantly with an exhilarating realization of three magnificent selections from the celebrated 1953 ballet score, Spartacus, by the Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian—this year is the 120th anniversary of his birth. The first excerpt, “Variations of Aegina and Bacchanalia,” is sparkling and dynamic, while the second, “Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia,” begins lyrically but builds to a more emphatic statement, concluding serenely. The final section, “Dance of Gaditanian Maidens and Victory of Spartacus,” is evocative and mysterious, increasing in excitement and appropriately closes triumphantly.

An admirable soloist, Sergey Khachatryan, then joined the artists for an impressive account of the same composer’s Violin Concerto in D minor from 1940—a work that, like the music for Spartacus, deserves a more prominent place in the repertory. The initial, ambitious Allegro con fermezza is energetic—even agitated at times—but with meditative moments and it has both an exotic quality as well as, especially in the cadenza,avant-gardeelements. The Andante sostenuto that follows is reflective and melodic—seemingly with Eastern folk motifs—but is not without intensity and ends quietly. The Allegro vivace that completes the piece is restless, even turbulent at times, but with sprightly passages and it finishes dramatically.

The second half of the event was also memorable, comprised of a compelling rendition of the marvelous Symphony No. 2 of Sergei Rachmaninoff, whose sesquicentennial anniversary is also this year. The main body—marked Allegro moderato—of the complex first movement—which has a solemn, Largo introduction that becomes more soulful—has a largely passionate, even urgent, character but sometimes is almost bucolic and the Allegro molto that succeeds it is propulsive, playful and suspenseful but with emotional passages. The famous, haunting primary theme of the Adagio that ensues is impossibly beautiful while the Allegro vivace finale is exuberant with some subdued episodes. A very enthusiastic ovation was rewarded with a delightful encore: the famous Waltz from the 1944 Suite drawn from the incidental music Khachaturian wrote for the Mikhail Lermontov play,Masquerade.