THE ART OF MUSIC/Conformism and Rebellion: Two Soviet Composers

Date: March 07, 2010
Time: 3:00 pm

The Sima Trio

This concert presents trios by two great Soviet composers, Arno Babajanian and Alfred Schnittke. Their fates could not have been more different. Babajanian earned the respect and support of the Soviet Union, winning the Stalin Prize in 1950 and being named People’s Artist of the Soviet Union in 1971. Schnittke, ten years younger and influenced by Schoenberg’s modernist techniques, had several of his works banned by the Composer’s Union. In 1980, Schnittke was forbidden from traveling outside of the USSR. The Sima Trio is quickly becoming one of the leading, young trios of its generation. Winners of international competitions, violinist Sami Merdinian, cellist Ani Kalayjian, and pianist Sofya Melikyan, are highly sought-after soloists and chamber musicians who have performed at such major venues as Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón, and The Concertgebauw.