Views from Ararat - Masterpieces by great composers from Armenia and Turkey

Ararat is a famous mountain. Noah's ark is said to have been stranded on it after the flood. Christian Armenians see the mountain as a national symbol, even though it is not located in Armenian territory, but on Turkish soil near the Armenian border. The border crossing is closed, however, as relations between the two countries have long been strained because of the Armenian Genocide. This mass murder of Armenians in 1915 is denied by the Turkish government.

Despite the difficult history of these two neighbouring peoples, the region has produced much that is positive in a musical regard. This CD brings together important composers from the two hostile nations, with Ahmed Adnan Saygun and Arno Babajanian bearing witness not only to the music of their native countries, but also to all they learned and experienced in the great musical capitals of Paris and Moscow.


“As an Armenian, I have been familiar with the singular, painful and unresolved aspects of our history ever since I was born. They make us all the more proud of the famous artists that our people has produced. In my native country, composers such as Babajanian, Komitas, Khachaturian and Mansurian are revered as heroes, and their music is a living part of our cultural life. But for me as a musician, the discovery of the music of Ahmed Adnan Saygun was a profoundly moving process that allowed me to see the culture of our neighbouring country in a different light. I simply cannot help recognising the affinities in the music of this special part of the world and admiring its beauty. That is what our «Views from Ararat» are about.“
Margarita Oganesjan