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Eastern European Cello Music: About Aram Il’yich Khachaturian

Eastern European countries have always had a special sense of history, with their unique architecture, the turmoil between the Tsars and the former Soviet Union, and the emergence of small countries with their own unique cultural icons. Next, we would like to share with you a series of Eastern European composers and their cello works.

 

The first is Aram Khachaturian, one of the three most celebrated composers of the Soviet era. To most people, Armenia sounds like a distant and mysterious country, situated between Western Asia and Eastern Europe, and as one of the former Soviet republics, it can also be considered an Eastern European country. Surrounded by rolling hills, Armenia has strong rural folklore. Although born in Georgia, another former Soviet republic, Aram Khachadourian grew up with a great deal of exposure to Asian culture, including celebrations and folk music, which continued to influence his future work.

 

He was not formally trained in the arts at an early age and growing up in a poor family, he studied mechanics and considered pursuing a career in medicine or engineering. However, at the age of 18, he moved to Moscow, where he was given the opportunity to study music further, specialising in cello playing and composition. Although he was forced to suspend his studies during the war, Khachadoum’s talent was quickly recognised upon his return to school, particularly in his music, where the strong ethnic colouring of his music became a personal characteristic that quickly gained him national and international attention.

 

From ballet to the theatre, to Asian and Russian folk music, Khachaturian wrote a wide range of music that was always informed by his life experiences and his deep affection for the Armenian people. The Cello Concerto, released in 1946, is simple and clear in form, with a melodic flow in a minor key that is already similar to that of Eastern music. In the beginning, he quotes the rhythm of an Armenian folk song, arranged as a leaping sixteenth note for the cellist, and the middle section becomes more dramatic, with more emotional ups and downs. The Cello Concerto is said to be surging yet sombre and full of emotional tension, allowing Khachatur to relate his painful memories of the Russian October Revolution and the war years.

 

As the third concerto, the Cello Concerto is also backed by the Soviet government’s control of this ‘formalist’ music. He had to be driven back to Armenia after being condemned by the authorities for his efforts to complete the concerto. Even though his own work was suppressed, it was hard to see how Khachaturgy could have been more focused and concentrated on the music itself. See the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra’s 2003 version for a taste of his emotional memory of a turbulent time and the passionate and beautiful folk music of Armenia.

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