Sabre Dance by Aram Khachaturian

This short piece, written by Soviet-Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, is part of the final act of his ballet, Gayane. This powerful work plays as the dancers show off their skills using sabres. I heard once that Khachaturian wrote this piece in a hurry, and it was added in last-minute, as the ballet was about to premiere soon after. I really love that this piece stands out for using instruments such as the xylophone, cello soli in a tenor clef, and an alto saxophone. Also, the trumpets and trombones have all these glissandos, which blare out through the whole thing. Such an exciting piece of music, and it's been a while since I've conducted an orchestral piece here on the channel. I've wanted to do this one for such a long time. I hope you all enjoy! :)