Armenia’s greatest composer Aram Khachaturian received both acclaim and criticism from the Soviet regime, including the USSR State Prize for his three Concerto-Rhapsodies. “A concerto is music with chandeliers burning bright; a rhapsody is music with chandeliers dimmed, and the Concerto-Rhapsodies are both”, he explained. The Violin Concerto’s passionately heroic first movement and poignant Andante sostenuto lead to a virtuosic, dancing finale. Both works on this disc brim with the full-blooded lyricism of his much-loved ballet Spartacus, Suites Nos. 1–3 of which are available on 8.550801.