Aram Khachaturian: Sabre Dance

Jean-Léon Gérôme, Sabre Dance in a Café
oil on canvas, 1876
Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
(http://www.oceansbridge.com/oil-paintings/product/44051/sabredanceinacafe1876)
no copyright infringement intended

The Sabre Dance (initially named Dance of the Kurds) is a movement in the final act of Khachaturian's ballet Gayaneh.

When listening to this piece, various pictures come to mind. Such ideas include circus clowns running around, babies creating havoc while their parents chase after them, someone frantically cleaning a house, a teenager's party when his/her parents are not home, and a dog chasing a cat. Perhaps the media influences our picture of this music since this piece has been used previously on TV commercials and movies.

(faculty.weber.edu/tpriest/FacetsMdl_files/Sabre Dance.html)

Berliner Philharmoniker, Seiji Ozava conductor
(video by elias gorki)

(Aram Khachaturian)