Aznavoorian Sisters perform Piatigorsky, Variations on a Theme of Paganini, live

The Aznavoorian Sisters, Ani and Marta, gave their first public performance at the ages of 4 and 8. Since then, they have toured France, Armenia, and Finland, performed at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and presented countless programs in their hometown of Chicago including a major fundraiser for the Armenian earthquake in 1988. They gave a residency at the Seattle Chamber Music Society, and highlights of their '24-25 season includes performances at the prestigious Ravinia Festival and multiple U.S. tours.
For more information, visit:
www.martaaznavoorian.com/the-aznavoorian-sisters
About the music:
The cellist Gregor Piatigorsky won worldwide admiration in the first half of the 20th. Born in Ukraine, a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory, Piatigorsky became principal cellist of the Berlin Philharmonic under Wilhelm Furtwangler at the age of 21, having emigrated from the fledgling Soviet Union. Later he would become a distinguished teacher on the faculty of UCLA. Chamber music was an important part of his life at the Boston Symphony’s Tanglewood Festival and in partnership with violinist Jascha Heifetz. Lke other virtuosi before him, he tried his hand at composition, including this set of variations he wrote originally for cello and orchestra, and later arranged for cello and piano. It was premiered by Piatigorsky on NBC's famous Bell Telephone Hour.
Its theme, one of the most famous in all of Western music, takes us right back to the start of the virtuoso tradition: the subject of Paganini’s Solo Violin Caprice No. 24. Composers from Brahms to Andrew Lloyd Webber have exploited this theme with dazzling results. Piatigorsky structured his variations as whimsical tributes to some of his performing colleagues:
Variation 1: Legendary Spanish cellist Pablo Casals.
Variation 2: Composer Paul Hindemith in his role as viola virtuoso.
Variation 3: Raya Garbousova, a Georgian-born cellist who performed and taught extensively in the U.S.
Variation 4: Erica Morini, a child-prodigy Viennese-born violinist.
Variation 5: Felix Salmond, an English cellist who premiered the Elgar concerto.
Variation 6: Hungarian violinist Joseph Szigeti.
Variation 7: Violinist Yehudi Menuhin.
Variation 8: Violinist Nathan Milstein.
Variation 9: Fritz Kreisler, perhaps the most famous composer-virtuoso of the early 20th century.
Variation 10: A self-portrait.
Variation 11: Spanish cellist-composer Gaspar Cassadó.
Variation 12: Violinist Mischa Elman, a beloved virtuoso of the first half of the 20th century.
Variation 13: Ennio Bolognini, an Argentinean-born artist who made most of his career in the U.S.; he played flamenco guitar as well as the cello.
Variation 14: Jascha Heifetz.
Variation 15: Pianist Vladimir Horowitz.
-Adapted from a note by Andrea Lamoreaux