Stanzas In August
New Focus, 2026
9/10
This 4 CD collection pairs Movses Pogossiann’s violin with the Armenian Music Project for mostly music by Ashot Zohrabyan and Koharik Gazarossian, though there’s a lot of diversity present.
Vahram Sargsyan’s “Vox Temporum” opens the listen with Sargsyan’s deep chanting alongside Varty Manouelian’s precise violin and plenty of other strings for the rich delivery, and further into this disc Aram Hovhannisyan’s “String Quartet” radiates tension and cinematic qualities via Pogossian’s exciting violin and Mia Barcia-Colombo’s gripping cello.
The piano works of Koharik Gazarossina occupies disc 2, where “Preludes” illustrates much pensiveness via the meticulous key progressions, while “Suite No. 2” pays close attention to tonality and emotion.
The chamber music of Ashot Zohrabyan arrives on disc 3. It opens with the frantic pace of “String Quartet No. 1”, and it isn’t long until “String Quartet No. 3” blends the violins, viola and cello into a textured and cautious landscape.
The final disc assembles several composers. “Chinar Es…”, by Artur Avanesov, allows for his gorgeous piano playing to shine in a bare setting, and closer to the end, “Aram Khachaturian’s “Sonata-Monologue” enlists Eva Aronian’s stunning violin in a solo piece that is nothing short of sublime.
A lengthy project that touches on some of the most important events of the 20th century, the fuller settings are just as luminous as the single instrument pieces, where the timeless chamber dynamics are executed with inimitable precision and care.
Travels well with: Ann DuHamel- Prayers For A Feverish Planet: New Music About Climate Change, Vol. 1; Michael Jones- The Promise Of Escape