大象传媒

Trio Apaches contrast piano trios by Shostakovich and Armenian composer Babajanian in a concert recorded at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Shostakovich wrote his trio in 1944 with the grim realities of the Second World War weighing heavily on his mind. The siege of Leningrad finished in January with a deathtoll of over a million and a realisation of the fate of the Jews across Europe was dawning. Compounding this misery, his closest friend, the music writer Ivan Sollertinsky, died. Shostakovich dedicated the work to his friend following a tradition established by Tchaikovsky in memory of Rubinstein and Rachmaninov with his Trio El茅giaque in memory of Tchaikovsky. The resulting masterpiece is a memorial to all who died at this time - a blend of bleak landscapes, oppressive rhythmic figures, beautiful melodies and ironic juxtaposition such as the inclusion of a joyous Jewish klezmer melody in the final movement.

The figure of Arno Babajanian makes a fascinating contrast to his rather better known contemporary and compatriot Dmitri Shostakovich. Why his name and his music should be so little known in the West is a mystery. In his native Armenia, Babajanian is a national hero. His home town of Yerevan in Armenia has a plaque and a statue and their concert hall is named after him. There is even a minor planet re-named 9017 Babadzhanyan. Spotted by Aram Khachaturian at a young age as a rare musical talent, Babajanian studied in Armenia and Moscow and established himself back in Armenia where he was hugely acclaimed, writing in many genres including popular song. His popularity and fame spread to the wider USSR and he was named as a People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1971. This Trio is considered one of his most important works and was acclaimed as such at its first performance in 1952. Full of romance, drama and melody, it also reflects his interest in Armenian folk melodies and folklore. In this respect his music has much in common with Rachmaninov and Khachaturian, and his later works show the influence of Bartok and Prokofiev.

Shostakovich - Piano Trio No.2

Babajanian - Trio in F sharp

Trio Apaches.