Tigran Chukhajian is highly significant in the history of Armenian music: he was the first composer to combine Western and Eastern cultures, and was referred to as the "Armenian Verdi" amongst his contemporaries. Persecution under the repressive Ottoman Turkish regime led to his music being suppressed, but these piano works are a sophisticated testament to Chukhajian’s Romantic inclinations, absorbing the influences of Chopin and Liszt, and enriching them with Oriental nuances and descriptive themes. © Grand Piano Records