Toccata (Khachaturyan)

The Toccata in E flat minor , op. 11 is a piece for solo piano by Aram Chatschaturjan . He composed the toccata in 1932 when he was a student at the Moscow Conservatory with Nikolai Myaskovsky .

Work description

Chatschaturjan's Toccata is the first movement of a three-movement suite for piano. However, the piece quickly became so popular that it is mostly played alone. It combines the virtuoso tradition of the “Russian School” with elements of Armenian folk music , a combination that was promoted by the Soviet cultural ideology at the time .

The piece begins with a hammering rhythm, which is entitled Allegro marcatissimo . After powerful chords there is a transition to a Vivace con brio , which in turn leads to the middle section, an Andante espressivo, after a virtuoso sixteenth run . This vocal part forms a dramatic contrast to the wild beginning of the piece. This section is also characterized by numerous repetitions and leads to a reprise of some of the motifs from the first part. The piece closes in the coda with a resumption of the cantable middle section. A performance of the toccata takes about five minutes.

The musicians who recorded the toccata include Benno Moiseiwitsch , Shura Cherkassky , Felicja Blumental , Mîndru Katz , Ruth Laredo and Murray McLachlan . The world premiere was given by Chatschaturjan's fellow student Lev Oborin , of whom there is also a recording of the piece.

Web links

• Description of the work of John Palmer (English)