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| Portrait of a composer - Aram Khachaturian |
-Brian Mendonca
The Sabre Dance is a short 2.33 minute piece composed by Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian (1903-78). It is a suite from the final act of his ballet Gayaneh. It was composed at the height of World War II.
Khachaturian was one of the leading composers of the early 20th century along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich. He was inspired by the folk songs and dances of travelling musicians of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Georgia.
Gavaneh was first performed by the Leningrad Kirov Ballet during its wartime evacuation in the Urals, to thwart the German advance in 1942. It was choreographed by Russian dancer and choreographer Nina Anisimova.
Gayaneh is the name of the heroine in the opera. She is a cotton-picker on a farm. Her husband is Ghiko. Ghiko sets fire to a cotton store and Gayaneh hands him over to the Red Army. Ghiko is exiled. Gayaneh marries the young guard commander amid the harvest festivities.
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