Trumpet Concerto in A-flat Major (1950)
Arutiunian's Trumpet Concerto consists of the following movements:
- Andante—Allegro energico
- Meno mosso
- Tempo I
The melodic and rhythmic characteristics of Armenian folk music are a strong influence in Arutiunian’s work. As a composer, he expresses his nationality by incorporating the flavor of ashughner (folk minstrel) improvisations. At the time the concerto was written, his compositional style was similar to Khachaturian's. However, in the 1960s he tended towards classical forms and clearer tonality.
Arutiunian’s trumpet concerto was his sixth major composition, written in 1950. Arutiunian originally intended to write it in 1943 for a student of Tabakov, Zsolak Vartasarian, who was the principal trumpet in the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. However, Vartasarian died in the war and the concerto was not completed until 1950, so Aykaz Messlayan was the first performer of the Concerto and Timofei Dokshitser was the first recording artist of this concerto."
The concerto's introduction to the United States is solely due to Timofei Dokschitzer, a leading Soviet Russian trumpeter.
Read more about this topic: Alexander Arutiunian
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