Ara Sevanian, 1915-. Symphony No. 8 in A. Completed 1993. Scored for 2 each flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, and trumpets, tympani, and strings. This is the first performance of the work.
In 1987, at the age of 72, Ara Sevanian finally closed his coffee shop, a long-time Van Nuys landmark. The demise of ``Ara's Burgers'' drew the attention of major local newscasts, yet the true story was missed in the nostalgia for the popular meeting place.
Although the Armenian-born composer had always been able to work on music when between customers, the necessity of earning a living must have taken its toll. Always prolific, in the previous 45 years he had written over 150 works that he considered worth keeping. But in the 10 years following his retirement, he produced nearly 70 more, almost doubling his rate of output. Nor were these small pieces: the decade's works include string quartets, suites, variations, and three full-length symphonies. (The symphonies represent something of a spurt in their own right: Sevanian has written six since 1985.)
Sevanian's Seventh and Eighth Symphonies are consciously influenced by Beethoven; in fact, the composer gave the Seventh a subtitle of ``Beethoveniana,'' recalling Tchaikovsky's suite, ``Mozartiana.'' The Sevanian Eighth is in the same key (A major) as Beethoven's Seventh, and contains numerous explicit references to the work Wagner called ``the apotheosis of the dance.'' In discussing his two latest symphonies, Sevanian had these comments:
Beethoven's symphonies are like a bible to me. The man achieved such perfection. In both of these works, I have tried to keep my creative independence, my national character, with Beethoven beside me. I put Beethoven's mask on my face, but I'm singing my own song. Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and my friend Khachaturian, all were very strong characters, always with their own style. This is important [for any composer], so I have tried to keep my independence. It's up to the public to judge how I did.
© 1996, Geoff Kuenning
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