Tigran Mansurian: Soundtracks

Tigran Mansurian is an Armenian composer, best known for his film scores. Born in 1939 in Beirut, Lebanon, he moved to Armenia in 1947, where he studied at the Yerevan State Conservatory. He later became its director.

With artistic freedoms strictly controlled under Soviet rule, cinema was one of the few areas where Mansurian was able to explore his musical ideas.

"Soundtracks" is an arrangement of his most popular themes from films, such as "A Slice of Heaven" and "The White Dreams". It was actually composed for alto saxophone and chamber orchestra, but has been played by other instruments, such as the violin, and as you'll see – the oboe!

This performance is with the National Chamber Orchestra of Armenian (NCAO) during their UK tour. They are all fantastic musicians – what a privilege!

https://youtu.be/eraItSfoEAw?

Oboe
Chamber orchestra

St German's Church, Cardiff
21 October 2024