× Upcoming Events Thank You to Our Sponsors! Hospitality Partners WSO Memorials WSO Contributors Donate Now WSO Board and Staff Past Events
Home Thank You to Our Sponsors! Hospitality Partners WSO Memorials WSO Contributors Donate Now WSO Board and Staff
Masquerade: Suite
ARAM KHACHATURIAN

ARAM KHATCHATURIAN

Born June 6, 1903, in what is present-day Tbilisi, Georgia.
Died May 1, 1978, in Moscow, USSR.

Masquerade Suite

  1. Waltz
  2. Nocturne
  3. Mazurka
  4. Romance
  5. Galop

First known performance by the Wichita Symphony.

Our familiarity with Aram Khatchaturian and his music has faded somewhat in recent decades. In the middle of the 20th century, he was considered one of the titans of Soviet-era music alongside Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. His “Sabre Dance” from his ballet, Gayane, was ubiquitous on symphonic pops concerts everywhere. The American pianist William Kapell popularized Khatchaturian’s Piano Concerto for American audiences. Piano students often tackled the rhythmic Toccata as a showpiece for student recitals.

Born into an Armenian family in the Caucasus governorate of Tiflis, now known as the country of Georgia situated at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, Khatchaturian absorbed the folk music influences of the region. Following the forced annexation of the country into the Soviet Union in 1922, Khatchaturian went to Moscow, where he enrolled in the Gnessin Music Institute and later the Moscow Conservatory.

His career advanced quickly, particularly after the premiere of his Piano Concerto in 1936. He served in several posts in the Union of Soviet Composers. Like Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Khatchaturian caught the ire of Josef Stalin and was denounced by Central Committee Secretary Andrei Zhadanov for not adhering to the Party line of populist music in 1948. Stalin and Zhadov’s infamous list included composers accused of “formalism,” which meant they composed art for art’s sake contrary to serving a larger social purpose.

Khatchaturian confessed to the “error” of his ways, and his reputation was restored shortly after. In 1957, he was named Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers, which he held until his death. In the West, some critics and music historians dismissed him as a bureaucrat and a Soviet “yes man.” Elsewhere he is known as the “Armenian Tchaikovsky” and considered a national treasure of Armenia.

In 1941, Khatchaturian was invited to compose incidental music for Masquerade, a play by the 19th-century Russian poet and playwright Mikhail Lermontov (1814 – 1841), considered the greatest poet of Russian Romanticism and the successor to Pushkin. Lermontov was often called “the poet of the Caucasus,” so it’s easy to see why Khatchaturian would have an affinity for the literature. To capture the mood of the 19th century, Khatchaturian immersed himself in the music of the period, namely, dance works like waltzes and mazurkas.

Incidental music is composed to set a mood for a story, play, or film. Often, the music fills in the time between scene changes of a theatrical production. A film score is a type of incidental music.

In 1944, Khatchaturian extracted and arranged music from the 1941 play to create a five-movement Suite that we hear at this concert.

The Suite begins with a Waltz, perhaps the most familiar movement of the set. The sumptuous music reminds us of Tchaikovsky, and the throbbing, heart-on-the-sleeve momentum of the three-beat time pulls us along in an irresistible fashion. The Nocturne is a subdued night piece marked by a prominent violin solo. In the Mazurka, a kind of Polish folk dance, we return to an over-the-top, almost cinematic style in the orchestration. The Romance captures a film noir mood in a rich romantic vein. The Galop concludes the Suite with a madcap and hilarious race to the finish.

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, pairs of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. The Suite lasts about eighteen minutes.

Notes by Don Reinhold ©2022

WSU SOM 2
Masquerade: Suite
ARAM KHACHATURIAN

ARAM KHATCHATURIAN

Born June 6, 1903, in what is present-day Tbilisi, Georgia.
Died May 1, 1978, in Moscow, USSR.

Masquerade Suite

  1. Waltz
  2. Nocturne
  3. Mazurka
  4. Romance
  5. Galop

First known performance by the Wichita Symphony.

Our familiarity with Aram Khatchaturian and his music has faded somewhat in recent decades. In the middle of the 20th century, he was considered one of the titans of Soviet-era music alongside Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. His “Sabre Dance” from his ballet, Gayane, was ubiquitous on symphonic pops concerts everywhere. The American pianist William Kapell popularized Khatchaturian’s Piano Concerto for American audiences. Piano students often tackled the rhythmic Toccata as a showpiece for student recitals.

Born into an Armenian family in the Caucasus governorate of Tiflis, now known as the country of Georgia situated at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, Khatchaturian absorbed the folk music influences of the region. Following the forced annexation of the country into the Soviet Union in 1922, Khatchaturian went to Moscow, where he enrolled in the Gnessin Music Institute and later the Moscow Conservatory.

His career advanced quickly, particularly after the premiere of his Piano Concerto in 1936. He served in several posts in the Union of Soviet Composers. Like Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Khatchaturian caught the ire of Josef Stalin and was denounced by Central Committee Secretary Andrei Zhadanov for not adhering to the Party line of populist music in 1948. Stalin and Zhadov’s infamous list included composers accused of “formalism,” which meant they composed art for art’s sake contrary to serving a larger social purpose.

Khatchaturian confessed to the “error” of his ways, and his reputation was restored shortly after. In 1957, he was named Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers, which he held until his death. In the West, some critics and music historians dismissed him as a bureaucrat and a Soviet “yes man.” Elsewhere he is known as the “Armenian Tchaikovsky” and considered a national treasure of Armenia.

In 1941, Khatchaturian was invited to compose incidental music for Masquerade, a play by the 19th-century Russian poet and playwright Mikhail Lermontov (1814 – 1841), considered the greatest poet of Russian Romanticism and the successor to Pushkin. Lermontov was often called “the poet of the Caucasus,” so it’s easy to see why Khatchaturian would have an affinity for the literature. To capture the mood of the 19th century, Khatchaturian immersed himself in the music of the period, namely, dance works like waltzes and mazurkas.

Incidental music is composed to set a mood for a story, play, or film. Often, the music fills in the time between scene changes of a theatrical production. A film score is a type of incidental music.

In 1944, Khatchaturian extracted and arranged music from the 1941 play to create a five-movement Suite that we hear at this concert.

The Suite begins with a Waltz, perhaps the most familiar movement of the set. The sumptuous music reminds us of Tchaikovsky, and the throbbing, heart-on-the-sleeve momentum of the three-beat time pulls us along in an irresistible fashion. The Nocturne is a subdued night piece marked by a prominent violin solo. In the Mazurka, a kind of Polish folk dance, we return to an over-the-top, almost cinematic style in the orchestration. The Romance captures a film noir mood in a rich romantic vein. The Galop concludes the Suite with a madcap and hilarious race to the finish.

The work is scored for piccolo, two flutes, pairs of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, and strings. The Suite lasts about eighteen minutes.

Notes by Don Reinhold ©2022

WSU SOM 2