"Electric Violinist"

Aram Khachaturian

According to Bradley Bambarger of The Newark Star-Ledger, violinist Sergey Khachatryan is the main attraction on the London Philharmonic's current U.S. Tour. There have been numerous substitutions at the podium as the tour's managers have scrambled to replace Maestro Kurt Masur, unable to tour because of a viral infection (see Yan Pascal Tortelier to Replace Kurt Masur with London Philharmonic from this blog). Newark drew their own Neeme Järvi as conductor.

Those made squeamish by the replacement of Maestro Masur despite Yan Pascal Tortelier's fine credentials (apparently there are very few of you) should certainly be reassured by Bambarger's contention that Khachatryan's performance of Aram Khachaturian's 1940 violin concerto is the highlight of the program and that the young violinist is a rising star:

"For all the charms of the Britten, the day belonged to Aram Khachaturian's 1940 Violin Concerto -- and the soloist for the piece, a 21-year-old fellow Armenian and near-namesake, Sergey Khachatryan. That this is a sorely undervalued score might be apparent to those who have heard the pioneering recordings by David Oistrakh and Leonid Kogan. But Khachatryan's electric performance made a case for a work that would be hard for any music lover to deny."

Read Electric Violinist by Bradley Bambarger.