The Babarians Photo: Chamber Music New Zealand
The members of The Babarians are from Christ's College & St Andrew's College in Christchurch: Justin Hodges (violin), Christine Jeon (cello), and Samuel Jeon (piano).
Arno Babajanian was born in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia. This is his only piano trio and his best-known work. He's relatively little known in the West, but a national hero in his native Armenia and quite well known in Russia.
From 1950-1956 he taught at the conservatory in Yerevan. It was during this period (1952) that he wrote the Piano Trio in F# sharp minor, which received immediate acclaim and was regarded as a masterpiece from the time of its première.
By combining traditional Armenian musical and Western classical elements, Babajanian created a piece that resonates with both native Armenians and classical music lovers alike. The trio is rich with Armenian folk harmonies and he achieves this by either incorporating a tune from traditional folk song or through use of the harmonic major/minor modal language found in Armenian folk music.
Recorded 7 August 2021 at The Piano, Christchurch by RNZ Concert
Producer/Sound engineer: Darryl Stack
