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| Aram Khachaturian |
Composer: Aram Khachaturian
Composed in 1942
The "Sabre Dance" is a movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet Gayane (1942), "where the dancers display their skill with sabres." It is Khachaturian's best known and most recognizable work. Its middle section is based on an Armenian folk song. According to Tigran Mansurian, it is a synthesis of an Armenian wedding dance tune from Gyumri tied in a saxophone counterpoint "that seems to come straight from America.”
In 1948 the "Sabre Dance" became a jukebox hit in the United States. Due to its popularity, Newsweek suggested that 1948 could be called "Khachaturian Year in the United States." In that year, three versions of the "Sabre Dance" (one played by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Artur Rodziński; another one by the New York Philharmonic, conducted by Efrem Kurtz; and by Oscar Levant) reached number one in the Billboard Best-Selling Records by Classical Artists. These three versions were included in the Year's Top Selling Classical Artists by Billboard in 1948. The "Sabre Dance" became the first million-selling record of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. According to the Current Biography Yearbook, it was Levant's performance that "received popular attention.”
The piece "has entered the realm of popular music as one of the 20th century's signature pieces." It was further made popular by covers by pop artists, first in the US and later in other countries, such as the UK and Germany. Its use in a wide range of films and TV series over the decades have significantly contributed to its renown. The "Sabre Dance" has also been used by a number of figure skaters. Tom Huizenga of NPR describes it as "one of the catchiest, most familiar—perhaps most maddening—tunes to come out of the 20th century." Billboard magazine calls it "a piece that's known to every pops orchestra in existence.”
Sabre Dance Video:
Sabre Dance (Arranged for Piano) pdf file:
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