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Spartacus

I suppose this might count as a 'Greatest Hits' of Aram Khachaturian, featuring as it does four extracts apiece from his most succesful ballet scores Spartacus and Gayaneh. It's a 1971 re-issue of a 1962 performance by the Vienna Philharmonic, under the baton of the composer himself. The ballets themselves premiered in 1956 and 1942 respectively.

It opens with the 'Adagio Of Spartacus And Phrygia', whose melody I'd known since early childhood from its being used as the main theme to the BBC TV drama The Onedin Line. The 'Sabre Dance' from Gayaneh which opens side B is scarcely less famous. I'd likewise encountered its melody in my early years thanks the the rock version by Dave Edmunds' band Love Sculpture.

The other tracks are scarcely less arresting, with brash, up-front tunes throughout. The music is perhaps a Soviet equivalent to Hollywood movie soundtracks of the same era. I don't play the record often, but it is a joy, and I never regret it when I do.

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