Folks:
        Aleksander Arutiunian is, indeed, Armenian, and his brilliant trumpet concerto should be approached as though telling the story of the brave Armenian people....

        For those of you who do not know the story: the majority of the Armenian population was massacred early in the 20th century in a genocide which reportedly gave Hitler the idea that *Noone cared about the Armenians, why should they care about the Jews?*(not my view, but a reported quote from Hitler in justification of his *final solution*)...

        The opening fanfare can be viewed as a story-teller grabbing the attention of the audience, and preparing to set the stage for the saga to come...It should be played in a bravura style, somewhat ad libitum in tempo, with huge dynamic contrasts....

        At the opening statement of the march, present it as though you are singing the fighting song of the brave Armenian people...listen to the music and you can hear hooves beating, swords clashing, and great valour....though there is also a sense of desperation in the running eighths and sixteenths at the top of the second page of the solo part(as published by International, which I will reference throughout this summary)....

        The next entrance is descriptive of the beautiful artwork of the Armenian peoples(the oriental rugs, the beautiful icons in the churches, the wonderfully lush and rich musical heritage).....including a wonderful symbolic weaving of melody and counter-melody between the solo trumpeter and the orchestra.....

        This is broken into by the next section which displays vignettes of horror as the massacre  begins .... There is even a short little bit of a lullaby as a grandmother, perhaps tries to soothe a child into silence to try to save its life--This is abruptly cut-off with a loud chop of a crescendo......leading to to the near-scream of a final note for the trumpet in this section....

        The next section, brought in by the sobbing rhythms of the accompaniment is a threnody for those lost in the genocide, even quoting a bit of the earlier mentioned lullaby, and weeping, weeping for those lost....

        'Till finally there is a gentle movement back toward the major and a dedication to make a difference in the world...That this should never be forgotten...The tale is once again begun, and the heroic march heard again  until the final two-beat triplet and final note sound the cry: *NEV-ER FOR-GET!*

        Bearing this description in mind, one can easily cut the cadenza, if necessary, and also make a cut after the threnody, leading into the final march....but perhaps the cello or piano player could as easily or even more easily cut the repeats in their(no doubt) classical era pieces....Besides, the Arutunian really only lasts about 20 minutes anyway and audiences love it -- it's so much more exciting than the usual concerto fare....

        BTW, my first solo performance with a professional symphony orchestra was the Arutunian, performed from memory when I was a senior in high school and won a young artists' competition with it....

        The Armenian information comes via the Erevan Choir and Orchestra, conducted by Father Oshagan Minassian(who is an Armenian Catholic priest), for which I have played principal trumpet for several years now.....

        Hope this has helped....And don't ever let anyone tell you that this concerto isn't beautiful music!