This masterful symphonic cantata by the Armenian composer Rostom Alagian is dedicated to the memory of the 22 million victims of the Soviet Union at the hands of the Nazis.
Transfer of the work from a Melodia vinyl record to a digital disc and release in Greece by the Rostom Alagian Greek-Armenian Cultural Center, with a cover designed by the great painter D. Mytaras.
Rostom Aramovich Aladzhyan (1916–2009), composer and conductor
His father was Aram Aladzian, an Armenian from Constantinople, and his mother was Eleni Pozidou, a Greek woman also from that city.
For many years, he served as General Director of all the orchestras in the regions of Vladikavkaz, Georgia, and Armenia. The composer’s works are known not only among professional musicians but also throughout the former Soviet Union, and have been performed many times by great conductors, such as Oganes Chikindzian, at the opera houses in Tbilisi, Moscow, Yerevan, and elsewhere. He set to music the works of great Russian, Georgian, and Armenian poets, such as Alexander Blok, Robert Rozdensvensky, Glan Onanyan, Tolmadzhe, and others. He composed many cantatas, various elegies, and songs. He died in Yerevan on April 13, 2009, three days before the world premiere of his “Alexander the Great.” He was honored by his homeland with the Suvorov Medal, as well as the Medal of the People’s Composer of the Soviet Union. The form, style, and character of Aladzhyan’s music spring from the primordial roots of his Eastern heritage. He composed the symphonic poem CRIMEA – STALINGRAD – BALTIC STATES (released on a 33-rpm record by Melodia of Moscow). The cantata “The Unquenchable Flame of Memory,” which was also released on vinyl by “Melodia,” and in June 2004 was also released on CD in Thessaloniki by his daughter Louiza. Alatzian’s last major symphonic work, composed in Thessaloniki as a wedding gift to his daughter and son-in-law Christos Voulgaridis, is: “Alexander the Great—Hymn to Ancient Greece,” which was first performed 13 years after its completion. He composed a “fanfare march” specifically for the 1,500th anniversary of Tbilisi, the “Moscow–Berlin” march for the 70th anniversary of the October Revolution, as well as various other pieces for the youth.
For more information: Christos Voulgaridis 6980776896
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