Concerto for Flute

Aram Khachaturian

Aram Khachaturian (trans. Jean-Pierre Rampal)

General Info

Year: 1940 / 1968
Duration: c. 38:00
Difficulty: (see Ratings for explanation)
Original Medium: Violin and orchestra
Publisher: U.S. Army Band
Cost: Score and Parts - Unknown

Movements

1. Allegro con fermezza – 13:45
2. Andante Sostenuto – 13:30
3. Alegro vivace – 10:00

Instrumentation

(Needed, please join the WRP if you can help.)

Errata

None discovered thus far.

Program Notes

The concerto is originally for violin. Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto in D Minor was completed in 1940, shortly before he would go on to write the ballet Gayane (1942) that includes his most famous work, the catchy and ubiquitous Sabre Dance, which has been used in countless movies, TV shows, cartoons, and Olympic figure skating routines over the years. The Violin Concerto is dedicated to the Russian violinist David Oistrakh, who premiered the piece in Moscow on in September 1940. It was well received, and was awarded the Stalin Prize for Arts in 1941. The work became a staple of the 20th-century violin repertoire, and was transcribed for flute, orchestra and piano by French flautist Jean-Pierre Rampal in 1968.

The third movement, marked Allegro vivace, is energetic and enthusiastic. Following an orchestral introduction, the movement is in rondo form, but is heavily influenced by Armenian folk music and is reminiscent of a lively country dance. The movement’s considerable length combined with passages of uninterrupted sixteenth notes for the soloist make this one of the most demanding pieces in the flute and violin repertoire.

- Program Note by Nadia Pessoa for U.S. Army Band concert program, 12 April 2019

Commercial Discography

None discovered thus far.

State Ratings

None discovered thus far.

Performances

To submit a performance please join The Wind Repertory Project

• United States Army Band (Ft. Myer, Va.) (Andrew J. Esch, conductor; Elizabeth McGinness, flute) – 12 April 2019 (Manassas, Va.)

Works for Winds by this Composer

• Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (arr. Nefs) (1954)
• Adagio from "Sparticus"
• Aegina and Bacchanalia (arr. Hicken) (1954/1970/2010)
• Armenian Dances (arr. Satz) (1945)
• Armenian Folk Song and Dance (arr. McAlister)
• Concerto for Flute (trans. Rampal) (1940/1968)
• Galop (arr. Erickson)
• Gayeneh Dance Suite No 1 (arr. Snoeck)
• Gayeneh (arr. Van der Beek)
• Sabre Dance (arr Balent) (arr. Balent)
• Sabre Dance (arr Bullock) (arr. Bullock)
• Sabre Dance (arr Oliver) (arr. Oliver)
• Sabre Dance (arr Story) (arr. Story)
• Suite from "Masquerade" (arr. Patterson) (1941/1944/2016)
• Three Dance Episodes from "Sparticus" (arr. Hunsberger) (1969)
• To the Heroes of the Patriotic War (arr. Berz)
• Uzbek March and Dancing Song (arr. McAlister)
• The Valencian Widow (arr. Somers) (1940/2000)

Resources

• Khachaturian, A.; Rampal, J. (1996). Concerto pour flûte [score]. Les Editions du chant du monde: Paris.