Search - Veronika Dudarova, Moscow Symphony Orchestra :: Khachaturian: Masquerade & The Valencian Widow

As a youth, Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) absorbed the folk music of his native Armenia and the neighboring states of Georgia and Azerbaijan, and these elements found their way into his rhythmically and melodically vivic compositions. Khachaturian composed incidental music to Lope de Vega?s comedic play La viuda de Valencia (The Widow of Valencia) for a 1940 Moscow production. It is one of his most colorful and delightful scores, and he later created a suite of six brief excerpts. The following year, Khachaturian was commissioned to compose incidental music for a revival of Mikhail Lermontov?s Masquerade in celebration of the author?s centenary. It has remained one of his most successful works. Azerbaijani-born conductor Veronica Dudarova was appointed conductor of the Moscow Symphony Orchestra in 1960, a position she held for almost four decades. In 1991, Ms Dudarova founded the State Symphony Orchestra. Winner of the highest awards both from the former Soviet Union and the current Russian Federation, she appears as guest conductor with orchestras throughout the world.