CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — On March 28, Dr. Nuné Melikian will give her debut performance of Babadjanian’s Violin Concerto with the Albemarle Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Philip Clark, a long-time admirer of Babadjanian’s music. Maestro Clark has been deeply fascinated by Babadjanian’s work and has even transcribed several of the composer’s pieces for orchestra.
The concert will take place in Charlottesville, VA. While there, Dr. Melikian will also give a book talk organized by the Armenian Club of the University of Virginia.
This collaboration marks a historic moment for this rarely performed piece. “My aspiration is to make the broader public fall in love with Babadjanian’s music and encourage other performers to embrace this amazing work,” said the violinist in a comment to the Armenian Mirror-Spectator.
In 1948, the ambitious young Arno Babadjanian was on the verge of graduating from the Moscow Conservatory. Full of passion and potential, he was driven by an unshakable desire to leave his mark on the world of music. At the time, his idea of composing a violin concerto seemed audacious — especially considering the towering figure of Aram Khachaturian, whose own violin concerto had already achieved legendary status. In the Soviet Union, following in Khachaturian’s footsteps felt intimidating, yet Babadjanian boldly pressed forward.
It was, however, a risky venture. His Violin Concerto, which would become the first Armenian violin concerto to emerge post-WWII, faced considerable challenges. Though groundbreaking for its time, it never quite found a place in the standard Soviet violin repertoire, nor did it gain much international attention.
In 1949, the Composer’s Union sharply criticized the concerto, accusing Babadjanian of merely imitating Khachaturian—a claim disputed by some scholars. After a rocky start, Babadjanian’s concerto remained somewhat dormant, overshadowed by both criticism and neglect.
