Makar Grigori Ekmalian, a student of Rimsky-Korsakov, played a significant role in the development of Armenian music in the 19th and 20th centuries, expanding its genre boundaries and contributing to the formation of a new national musical language. The folk-song arrangements represent Ekmalian’s skill in blending Armenian lyrical expressiveness with European stylistic colours.
His magnum opus, the Patarag (Divine Liturgy) was canonised in 1895, and is still in use by the Armenian Church today. This album of world première recordings by the acclaimed Armenian pianist Mikael Ayrapetyan are performed from the composer’s unpublished manuscripts. This recording was made on Steinway & Sons, Model Model D. 274. © Grand Piano Records