Karayev / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Yablonsky Ballet Suites: Seven Beauties / Path Of Thunder CD

Born in Baku, Kara Karayev was one of Dmitry Shostakovich's most distinguished pupils. Karayev absorbed his teacher's influence, binding it to his own distinctive use of native Azerbaijani folk melodies and harmonies to produce music in an eclectic range of genres. The Seven Beauties is the first full-length Azerbaijani ballet, and the suite heard here brims with an exotic array of appealing rhythms and melodies. The Path of Thunder uses elements of African and Afro-American music in it's exploration of the theme of forbidden love in apartheid era South Africa. Karayev's Symphony No. 3 and other orchestral works can be heard on 8.570720.

1. Waltz 2. Adagio 3. The Dance of the Clowns 4. The Seven Portraits: Introduction 5. The Seven Portraits: The Indian Beauty 6. The Seven Portraits: The Byzantine Beauty 7. The Seven Portraits: The Khorezmian Beauty 8. The Seven Portraits: The Slavonic Beauty 9. The Seven Portraits: The Maghrebian Beauty 10. The Seven Portraits: The Chinese Beauty 11. The Seven Portraits: The Most Beautiful of the Beauties 12. The Procession 13. General Dance 14. The Dance of the Girls with Guitars 15. The Dance of the Black Community 16. Night in Stilleveld 17. Scene and Duet 18. Lullaby 19. The Path of Thunder