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Trumpet Concerto by Alexander Arutiunian

Alexander Arutiunian was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was born in Erevan, Armenia, on September 23, 1920 and graduated from the Erevan Conservatory in 1941. He studied composition with Litinsky in Moscow at the House of Armenian Culture (1946–48), and then returned to Armenia as music director of the Royal Philharmonic Society. In 1954, he was appointed music director of the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra. Spanning a life of 92 years, he was awarded a huge array of Soviet Union prizes that included the Stalin Prize, State Prize of Armenia, and People’s Artist of the USSR. Several of his works for wind instruments have secured their place in the international repertory. The melodic and rhythmic characteristics of Armenian folk music are a strong influence in Arutiunian’s work. As a composer, he expressed his nationality by incorporating the flavor of ashugher (folk minstrel) improvisations. At the time this trumpet concerto was written, his compositional style was similar to that of Khachaturian’s. However, in the 1960s he tended towards classical forms and clearer tonality.

Arutiunian’s trumpet concerto was his sixth major composition. Immediately considered a virtuoso showpiece to be assimilated into the standard trumpet repertoire, it was written in 1950 for the renowned trumpet player Timofei Dokschitzer. Known as a “flashy piece,” it has characteristics of Gypsy, Russian and Armenian music through beautiful, soulful melodies and several challenging rapid- tonguing passages.

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Temple University Wind Symphony personnel

Name

Instrument

Nick Hall

piccolo

Hyerin Kim

flute

Serena Huang

flute

Camilla Yoder

oboe

Lexie Kroll

oboe

KaiKin Lee

clarinet

Zhenwei Li

clarinet

Tianming Yang

clarinet

Alyssa Kenney

clarinet

Jinghao Huang

clarinet

Samantha Jennings

clarinet

Eric Just

E-flat clarinet

Cameron Harper

contra alto clarinet

Cameron Deluca

bass clarinet

Dominic Panunto

bassoon

Tracy Nguyen

bassoon

Alessandra Napoleon

alto saxophone

Luis Aguilar

alto saxophone

Will Klotsas

tenor saxophone

Ian McDaniel

baritone saxophone

Luke Randazzo

trumpet

Maria Carvell

trumpet

Chris Shewell

cornet

Alan Tolbert

cornet

Lucas Schurman

cornet

Kathryn Taylor

French horn

Augustina Au

French horn

Eitenne Kambara

French horn

James Ashbrook

French horn

Abigayle Mancini

trombone

Hayden Adams

trombone

Collins Saunders

trombone

Brandon Martino

euphonium

Andrew Reichard

euphonium

Michael Pettis

tuba

Davi Moreire

string bass

Kingsley Stroh

harp

Caleb Breidenbaugh

percussion

David Lu

percussion

Anthony Passante-Contaldi

percussion

Steve Perry

percussion

Emilyrose Ristine

percussion

Recorded at Temple Performing Arts Center.

George Blood, Engineer
Tadashi Matsuura, Assistant Engineer
Jeffrey Chestek, Mix Engineer

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