Music of the Caucasus [Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia etc.]

[mballan]

The Georgian National Library have started to re-scan their scores - first offering from Nodar Mamisashvili (1930 - )

Malcolm

Mamisashvili N - Six Preludes (1963).pdf

Six Preludes (1963)
1. Isava Rocks
2. In the village
3. Portrait of a girl
4. In Guria
5. Temple ruins
6. Enguli

Mamisashvili N - Seven Preludes (1965).pdf

Seven Preludes (1957 publ. 1965)
1. Meeting with butterflies
2. After the rain
3. Visiting birds
4. Reflection
5. Dance of the snowflakes
6. To School
7. Joy

[mballan]

From Georgian National Library: A Machavariani (1913 - 1995)

Machavariani A - Musical Youth - Thirty-three Pieces for Young Players (1977).pdf

Musical Youth - Thirty-three Pieces for Young Players (1977)
1. Dalish Mode
2. Little Canon
3. Folksong
4. At Vera Liakhvi
5. Urban Motive
6. Funny Steps
7. Theme & Variations on a Folk Theme
8. Russian Melody
9. Liakhvi
10. By the Fireplace
11. Dance I
12. Lyrical Place
13. Did Business
14. Lullaby
15. Fugatto
16. Nocturne
17. In the Meadow
18. Song
19. Advice
20. The Shepherd
21. Ossetian Song
22. Clubfoot Bear
23. Song of the Snow Queen
24. Ossetian Dance
25. Dance II
26. Chonguri
27. Chorale I
28. Fortress of Gori
29. March
30. Andantino
31. Pioneers of Peace [from the oratorio ‘A Day in my Homeland’]
32. Chorale II
33. Visit of Guests

[mballan]

More scores from Georgian National Library.

Natala Kenchiashvili (20th century ?)

Kenchiashvili N - 'First Sounds' Album of fifty-five Pieces for the Young (1977).pdf

Archil Kereselidze (1912-1971)

Kereselidze A - Dance of the Children from the film 'Magdana Blue' (1957).pdf

Vladimir Kurtidi (1909 - ? )

Kurtidi V - Dance for Piano & 4 hands (1971).pdf

Aleksei Machavariani (1913-1995)

Machavariani A - Prelude & Fugue from the Oratorio 'Songs of my Homeland' - arr. Piano solo (1950 publ. 1972).pdf

[mballan]

From Georgian Music site:


Nodar Gabunia (1933 - )

Gabunia N - 'From the Pupil's Notebook' Twelve Pieces for Piano (1978).pdf

‘From the Pupil’s Notebook’ Twelve Pieces of medium difficulty (1978)
1. Morning
2. In school
3. The bell
4. History lesson
5. Arithmetic lesson
6. Singing lesson
7. Physics lesson
8. Home
9. In the yard (riders)
10. On the television (Nani Bregvadze sings)
11. Lullaby (mama sings)
12. Dreams


Shota Milorava (1925 - )

Milorava S - Seven Piano Pieces for Children (1982).pdf

Seven Pieces for the Young (Muzfond 1982)
1. Dawn
2. Before going to school
3. In School
4. Music lesson
5. Exercising
6. Salamura’s Adventure
7. Little March

[bingo]

Here are a couple of scans of Arno Babajanyan's piano music.
...
I believe that these two files, along with Alfor's upload of the Polyphonic Sonata comprise all of AB's solo piano music. If you know of any other pieces please advise.

Recordings of all of these (and more of AB's works) are available here:
http://babadzanyan.narod.ru/instr.htm

Babajanyan also arranged his Nocturne for piano & orchestra for solo piano. The Nocturne originally derives from the score to a 1980 Armenian film: The flight starts from the Earth (Полет начинается с земли).. There is a lovely Aria-Vocalise from that score too.

BABAJANYAN Nocturne for piano and orchestra (piano solo version).pdf

Thank you for the link to the .narod.ru site which has sheet music for dozens of his songs. Unfortunately the link to one of his famous songs "My Yerevan" goes nowhere. (#48 in the list) Some of them exist as piano solos e.g. "And Love is Alive", "Childhood's Last Call", a Fantasy on "Call Me", "Give Me Back the Music", "My Soldier's Song", "Song of First Love", "Year of Love", and the tango "Your Footprint" aka "Your Traces"

BABAJANYAN Give Me Back the Music (solo piano version).pdf

BABAJANYAN Fantasy on Call Me.pdf

Babajanyan's piano-playing was admired by Shostakovich and Gilels, the latter referring to him as the "Armenian Rachmaninov", saying "Arno is a brilliant pianist ... he is just a criminal that does not give concerts."

Edit: This 1982 video from a TV program "Musicians on Music" has at least five sections of Babajanyan playing Rachmaninoff etc and some of his own works. He has a stupendous dynamic range and touch.

[bingo]

I am looking for Babajanyan's Piano Concerto (1944) which was his first(?) post-student work, but like his Piano Sonata*, never published. According to the thesis of Dr Nune Malik, the manuscript sits in a Russian collection, and AFAICT it has never been recorded. It dates from the same time as his Rachmaninov-influenced Impromptu, but while he was being guided in his composition by Genrih Litinsky (1901-1985) who influenced Babajanyan's Polyphonic Sonata and Vagarshapat Dance.

I have his later piano concertante works (some derived from his film scores): Heroic Ballade, Dreams, Nocturne.
The other contributions in this genre were co-composed with Alexander Harutyunyan: Armenian Rhapsody, Festive,

*I think this is distinct from the 1947 Polyphonic/Counterpoint Sonata.

BTW This is the Babajanyan centenary year, and a silver commemorative coin has been issued in Armenia.
https://auction.violity.com/en/new/4797 ... was-issued

[mballan]

I am looking for Babajanyan's Piano Concerto (1944) which was his first(?) post-student work, but like his Piano Sonata*, never published. According to the thesis of Dr Nune Malik, the manuscript sits in a Russian collection, and AFAICT it has never been recorded. It dates from the same time as his Rachmaninov-influenced Impromptu, but while he was being guided in his composition by Genrih Litinsky (1901-1985) who influenced Babajanyan's Polyphonic Sonata and Vagarshapat Dance.

I have his later piano concertante works (some derived from his film scores): Heroic Ballade, Dreams, Nocturne.
The other contributions in this genre were co-composed with Alexander Harutyunyan: Armenian Rhapsody, Festive,

*I think this is distinct from the 1947 Polyphonic/Counterpoint Sonata.

BTW This is the Babajanyan centenary year, and a silver commemorative coin has been issued in Armenia.
https://auction.violity.com/en/new/4797 ... was-issued

Bingo

There are three major archives for music manuscripts in Russia - RGALI in Moscow, St Petersburg archive and the Glinka Museum. I checked the first two and although they hold some odd manuscripts, no piano concerto was listed. However, the Glinka have apparently 101 manuscripts by Arno - they list just a few including the violin concerto, so suspect the piano concerto may lie here if anywhere. However, you would have more luck winning £millions on the lottery than cracking the Glinka - usually will only provide information if you are associated with a university etc. and have said in the past they will not allow scans of any of their holdings.

Malcolm

[bingo]

Thank you for checking those resources Malcolm!

I suspect the manuscript sits with a family foundation under the control of Babajanyan's son. There are many more unpublished works from his earlier years. I have reached out to Dr Malik as she has been given some access in the past and has been working on a Babajanyan documentary. I'm a little surprised that no new editions have been in preparation for the centenary as - despite his reputation and legacy - the published record appears to be quite a mess. The Armenians and Soviet/Russians continue to symbolically recognise him by naming things after him, but the core music situation appears to be quite dodgy.

I had a poke around on discogs.com today after learning that the late Youri Egourov had recorded some of his music, and found a record of him playing his own Piano Trio in F# minor with David Oistrakh and Sviatoslav Knushevitsky.
https://www.discogs.com/David-Oistrakh- ... e/17148553

[Hades]

Can anyone provide Revaz Gabichvadze - Six Piano Pieces?

[tracyross]

Are these the ones?

Gabichvadze R - Six Pieces for Piano (1965).pdf