Violinist Movses Pogossian has assembled this illuminating collection of contemporary music from Armenia, “Modulation Necklace," revealing a vibrant repertoire whose aesthetics are as outward looking as they are grounded in their reverence of a centuries old culture. In his liner notes, Pogossian acknowledges the long shadow that the Soviet Union cast on Armenian composers during its reign — this recording celebrates this generation’s liberation from those constraints. The composer Tigran Mansurian played a pivotal role in connecting the threads of this Armenian new music tradition, both by literally introducing Pogossian to musicians involved in the project, but also in his courage and leadership to explore Western and later older Armenian sources for inspiration during the Soviet era. The performers heard here are drawn from Pogossian’s Dilijan Chamber Music Series, the Lark Musical Society, as well as the flagship group of UCLA’s Armenian Music Program, the VEM Ensemble.

Artists

Movses Pogossian (violin), Ji Eun Hwang (violin), Morgan O'Shaughnessey (viola), Niall Ferguson (cello), Artur Avanesov (piano), Varty Manouelian (violin), Scott St. John (viola), Antonio Lysy (cello), Charles Tyler (cello), Danielle Segen (mezzo-soprano), Aiko Richter (violin), Jason Pegis (cello), Katisse Buckingham (saxophone), Dustin Donahue (percussion), UCLA VEM Ensemble