Aram Il’yich Khachaturian was considered the ‘mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient’ and remains the most renowned of 20th-century Armenian composers. His unmistakable style came with an urge to invent new forms that reconciled Western practice with Eastern idiom. His ‘apprentice’ Fugues were revised and enriched with Recitatives that conjure the colourful voices of Khachaturian’s childhood in Tbilisi. Refreshingly original, amusing and provocative, the Children’s Albums belong to a tradition that reaches back to Bach, Schumann and Tchaikovsky.

Maltese pianist Charlene Farrugia studied with Dolores Amodio, and with Diana Ketler at the Royal Academy of Music in London. For several years she was mentored by Boris Petrushansky. She gained her doctorate in performance under Kenneth Hamilton. With a wide repertory ranging from classical to contemporary, Farrugia made her concerto debut with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 13, playing Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto no.1 – the orchestra’s youngest ever soloist. She has since toured widely, engagements taking her throughout Europe to North America and the Far East. In 2018 she received Malta’s International Achievement Award and was made an Associate of the Royal Academy of Music in 2020. An ambassador of EMMA (Euro Mediterranean Music Academy) for Peace, under the auspices of UNESCO, she is currently on the teaching faculty at the Music Academy, Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia. For Naxos she has recorded Charles Camilleri’s Piano Concerto no.1 (8573373).