Alexander Spendiarov (1871–1928) was a student of Rimsky-Korsakov and a close friend of Glazunov who wrote that he was a ‘musician with an impeccable, widely versatile technique’. Spendiarov’s music combines Russian and Armenian elements and is saturated in folkloric influence—and he vitally enriched the expressive range of Armenian music as a composer, pedagogue and champion of his contemporaries. His piano works, both for solo instrument and for chamber forces, show the range of his gifts, not least his romances and lullabies, and range across his entire compositional life. Spendiarov’s songs, heard here in piano transcriptions by Villy Sargsyan, perfectly preserve the unique timbres and textures of these works.
This recording was made on a modern instrument: Steinway, Model D. 274
Tracklist
Disc 1
Yerivanskiye ėtyudï (Yerevan Études), Op. 30 (version for piano) (1925) (00:11:00 )
1
No. 1. Heydari (00:07:26)
2
No. 2. Gidzhas (00:03:40)
Esquisses de la Crimée (Crimean Sketches), Series 1, Op. 9 (version for piano) (1903) (00:10:00 )
3
No. 1. Air de danse (00:02:10)
4
No. 2. Chanson élégiaque (00:02:10)
5
No. 3. Chanson à boire (00:01:45)
6
No. 4. Air de danse, "Kaïtarma" (00:04:18)
7
Waltz for Piano in B-Flat Major (1892) (00:03:38)
8
Waltz for Piano in E-Flat Major (1893) (00:05:16)
9
Scherzo for Piano in D Major (1894) (00:02:48)
10
Menuette for Piano in B-Flat Major, Op. 3, No. 1 (1895) (00:05:08)
11
Barcarolle for Piano in G Minor (1892) (00:02:46)
12
Introduction and Khaytarma (1895) (00:03:37)
13
Lullaby for Piano, Op. 3, No. 2 () (00:03:14)
14
Menuette for Piano in D Minor (1897) (00:03:40)
15
Brave Warriors, Op. 26 (1915) (00:06:23)
Folk Song, Dance and Khaytarma (1917) (00:05:00 )
16
Folk Song (00:02:58)
17
Dance and Khaytarma (00:02:01)
Disc 2
1
Waltz for Violin and Piano in E Minor () (00:03:12)
2
Folk Song for Violin and Piano () (00:02:22)
3
Romance for Violin and Piano (1892) (00:03:17)
4
Lullaby for Violin and Piano (1893) (00:03:11)
5
Melody for Violin and Piano (1894) (00:03:21)
6
Canzonetta for Violin and Piano in D Major (1896) (00:02:07)
7
Khaytarma, Op. 9, No. 4 (1903) (00:04:16)
8
Romance for Cello and Piano in F Major (1893) (00:03:29)
9
Romance for Cello and Piano in G Minor (1893) (00:03:30)
10
Barcarolle for Cello and Piano in G Major (1894) (00:02:06)
11
Barcarolle for Cello and Piano in G Minor (1896) (00:02:34)
12
To the Rose, Op. 1, No. 3 (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1894) (00:02:33)
13
Eastern Lullaby, Op. 5, No. 2 (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) () (00:02:51)
14
Mi lar blbul, Op. 22, No. 2 (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1910) (00:03:19)
15
Song of Crimean Tatars, Op. 25: No. 1. Lullaby (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1915) (00:05:02)
16
Sayat Nova Songs: Garib Blbul (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1925) (00:02:52)
17
To the Beloved (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1916) (00:03:48)
18
Esquisses de la Crimée (Crimean Sketches), Series 2, Op. 23: V. La souris (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1905) (00:02:48)
Almast (excerpts) (arr. V. Sargsyan for piano) (1928) (00:11:00 )
19
Dance of Maidens (00:02:22)
20
Dance of Men (00:03:48)
21
Persian March (00:04:53)
