A child prodigy, Stephan Elmas met Franz Liszt and made his acclaimed Viennese performing debut in 1885. Like Chopin, Elmas combined the character of folk-music dance forms to create sophisticated and deeply personal statements, and his Mazurkas are musical poems and paintings in which depictions of everyday scenes are combined with soulful lyricism. This world première recording by Armenian music specialist Mikael Ayrapetyan provides ample evidence of the great contribution Elmas’s Mazurkas make to the piano repertoire and to the musical heritage of Armenia and beyond.

Mikael Ayrapetyan has done much to popularise Armenian classical music all over the world with his Secrets of Armenia musical project, which began during his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. After completing his studies at the Moscow Conservatory, Ayrapetyan performed widely in many countries, receiving an enthusiastic response from critics and audiences alike. His repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the contemporary and includes rarely performed works by Armenian composers, such as Tigranian, Chukhadjian, Komitas, Melikian, Spendiarian, Barkhudarian, Stepanian, Khachaturian, Babajanian, Arutiunian, Abrahamian, Bagdasarian, Avetisian, Mirzoyan, Amirkhanian and many others. He was awarded the State Prize of the Republic of Armenia for his outstanding contribution to the development and popularisation of Armenian classical music.