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Table of Contents
KOMITAS VARDAPET
SAYAT - NOVA
ARAM KHACHATURIAN
ARNO BABAJANIAN
ALEXANDER ARUTIUNIAN
EDVARD MIRZOIAN
AVET TERTERIAN
ALEXANDER SPENDIARIAN
KONSTANTIN ORBELIAN
TIGRAN MANSURIAN
ROBERT AMIRKHANIAN
STEPHAN ELMAS
ASHOT ZOHRABIAN
ALAN HOVHANNES
GHAZAROS SARIAN
STEPAN SHAKARIAN
CHARLES AZNAVOUR
ABOUT
2
KOMITAS VARDAPET
Soghomon Gevorgi Soghomonyan commonly known as Komitas
Vardapet or simply Komitas was born on September 26, 1869 in Anatolia,
Turkey, in the town of Koutina. Komitas was an Armenian
priest, composer, choir leader, singer, music ethnologist, music
pedagogue and musicologist. Many regard him as the founder of
modern Armenian classical music and the founder of Armenian national
school of musical composition. He freed Armenian music from foreign
inuences and was the rst to prove the Armenian nation have its own
music. Being a profound expert of national music, Komitas created an
original synthesis of Armenian monodic thinking and European
polyphony that has endured to the present. He collected and wrote down
thousands of folksongs, studied church and folk music considering them
to be siblings.Komitas also made a research of Armenian khazes
(symbols used in the old Armenian system of musical notation), and
authored Patarag of the Armenian Church. Unfortunately, the prolic way
of consciousness and creativity of the brilliant composer was short.
Komitas shared the fate of his compatriots during the Genocide of 1915.
3
He was appallingly shocked by the tragic events, which subsequently
fatally aected his mental condition and he had a psychotic breakdown
after witnessing the horrors of 1915 Armenian Genocide and is
considered a martyr of the Genocide.
4
SAYAT - NOVA
Sayat-Nova born as Harutyun Sayatyan (1712 or 1722 22 September
1795), was an Armenian poet, musician and ashik, who had compositions
in a number of languages. Sayat-Nova's mother, Sara, was born in Tbilisi,
and his father, Karapet, either in Aleppo or Adana. He was born in Tbilisi.
His mother tongue was Georgian and he rst wrote exclusively in
Georgian, though he eventually learned Armenian. Sayat Nova was
skilled in writing poetry, singing, and playing the kamancheh, Chonguri,
Tambur. He performed in the court of Erekle II of Georgia, where he also
worked as a diplomat and, apparently, helped forge an alliance between
Georgia, Armenia and Shirvan against the Persian Empire. He lost his
position at the royal court when he fell in love with the king's sister; he
spent the rest of his life as an itinerant bard.In 1759 he was ordained as a
priest in the Armenian Apostolic Church. His wife Marmar died in 1768,
leaving behind four children. He served in locations including Tbilisi and
Haghpat Monastery. In 1795 he was killed in Haghpat monastery by the
invading army of Mohammad Khan Qajar, the Shah of Iran. He is buried
at the Cathedral of Saint George, Tbilisi. In Armenia, Sayat Nova is
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considered a great poet who made a considerable contribution to the
Armenian poetry and music of his century. Although he lived his entire
life in a deeply religious society, his works are mostly secular and full of
romantic expressionism. About 220 songs have been attributed to Sayat-
Nova, although he may have written thousands more. He wrote his songs
in Armenian, Georgian, Azerbaijani and Persian. His compositions
assume the form of traditional Armenian songs.

6
ARAM KHACHATURIAN
Aram Khachaturian was a talented composer, whose compositions
became part of the music classics of the 20-th century. His name is
recognized throughout the world, and the compositions are performed
worldwide, on the best theater stages, concert platforms, as well as the
most distant places. Today, the music of Khachaturian is played on the
radio, TV and cinema. The UNESCO places the name of Khachaturian
among the most renowned composers of the 20-th century, and his
Sabre Dance of the well-known ballet Gayaneh takes one of the rst
places in the list of the most popular compositions of our age. Aram
Khachaturian was born in Kodzhori (now Tbilisi), suburb of Tiis, on June
6, 1903, in the Armenian family of a bookbinder. He wrote later: Old Tiflis
is a city of sounds, a city of music. It took a stroll along the streets and
lanes away from the center, to plunge into the musical atmosphere
which was created by all the various sources It is also important, that
at the time, there was a division of RMC (Russian Musical Society) in
Tbilisi, as well as a musical school and an Italian Opera Theatre. This
place was visited by famous cultural representatives, among which were:
7
Fyodor Shalyapin, Sergei Rakhmaninov, Konstantin Igumnov. Ultimately,
there lived famous musicians, who played an important role in the
formation of Georgian and Armenian composer schools. All of this
constituted the basis for the early musical impressions of Aram
Khachaturian. The original multi-national alloy of the intonation was an
integral part of his acoustical experience. Years later, this very alloy
became the pledge of Khachaturians music, so that it was never limited
by the frames of nationality, and was always appealing to a wide-range of
audiences. It is worth mentioning that Khachaturian was always devoid
of any demonstration of national hidebound. He had a profound respect
and a live interest in the music of various nations. Internationalism is
one of the characteristic features and peculiarities of the world
perception, and is part of the creative work of Khachaturian. Despite his
early demonstrated musical abilities, Aram Khachaturian became
acquainted with the music literacy for the rst time at the age of 19 in
1922, when he arrived in Moscow and got enrolled in a cello class at
Gnesin Music School. Simultaneously, the composer got a degree in
biology from the Department of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow
State University. The musical development of Khachaturian proceeded at
a fast pace. Within a short period, not only did he catch up on his
classwork, but he also became one of the best students, obtaining the
right to perform at students concerts in the Small and Grand Halls of
Moscow Conservatory.
8
ARNO BABAJANIAN
Arno Babajanian, January 22, 1921 November 11, 1983, was an
Armenian composer and pianist during the Soviet era.Babajanian was
born in Yerevan, Armenia. By age 5, his extraordinary musical talent was
clearly apparent, and the composer Aram Khachaturian suggested that
the boy be given proper music training. Two years later, in 1928 at the
age of 7, Babajanian entered the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory. In
1938, he continued his studies in Moscow with Vissarion Shebalin. He
later returned to Yerevan, where from 19501956 he taught at the
Yerevan State conservatory. It was during this period that he wrote the
Piano Trio in f# sharp minor. It received immediate acclaim and was
regarded as a masterpiece from the time of its premiere. Subsequently,
he undertook concert tours throughout the Soviet Union and Europe. In
1971, he was named a Peoples Artist of the Soviet Union. As a composer,
Babajanian was active in most genres and even wrote many popular
songs in collaboration with the leading poets such as Yevgeny
Yevtushenko and Robert Rozhdestvensky among others. Much of
Babajanians music is rooted in Armenian folk music and folklore. But
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generally, the way in which he uses Armenian folk music is in the
virtuosic style of Rachmaninov and Khachaturian. His later works were
inuenced by Prokoev and Bartk. Praised by Dmitri Shostakovich as a
"brilliant piano teacher", Babajanian was also a noted pianist and often
performed his own works in concerts. He received the Stalin Prize of
1950 for his Heroic Ballade for piano with orchestra and the Order of the
Red Banner of Labour. He was People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1956)
and Soviet Union (1971). He was a laureate of two Stalin State Prizes of
the USSR (1951, 1953) and two Armenian SSR State Prizes (1967, 1983).

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ALEXANDER ARUTIUNIAN
Alexander Arutiunian has died at the age of 91 in Yerevan, the city of his
birth. If Armenia does not immediately summon up a litany of
recognisable Western composers, Arutiunian was, for 60 years, a
distinctive and internationally recognised gure from the South
Caucasus. Underpinned by the pedagogical traditions of the Soviet era
and fuelled by the proud identity of Komitas as the spiritual father of
Armenian classical music, Arutiunians evocative, resourceful and
attractive musical language took ight. From his early cantata,
Motherland, of 1948 (for which he won the Stalin Prize ahead of
Shostakovich) to his nal piece in 2011, a ute concerto, Arutiunian
explored ways of harnessing intensity of emotion within established
classical forms, avoured variously with regional characteristics. Early
works draw on indigenous improvisatory models whilst his opera Sayat-
Nova (1967) celebrates the Armenian troubadour (or meistersinger) in
the time-honoured romantic ideal of vernacular minstrelsy. However his
catalogue is largely focused on a repertoire of idiomatic instrumental
works, most notably well-crafted concertos for all the members of the
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brass family. If there is a single work which captivated audiences and
critics alike it was the Violin Concerto, Armenia-88, inspired by the Spitak
earthquake of that year, which killed 25,000 people at the height of the
Soviet stagnation era. The concerto reveals Arutiunian at his most
profound, personal and coherent. It was described by Joseph Horowitz as
a work which overows with graceful melodic invention, rhythmic
vitality, deeply felt emotional intensity and dionysiac exuberance. Yet it is
his Trumpet Concerto of 1950 which has established Arutiunians name
as a durable gure. There is no conservatoire in the world in which this
work does not feature perennially in syllabuses, competitions and
concert programmes. It is arguably the best-known trumpet concerto
after the Haydn and the Hummel. Like those two pioneering works,
Arutiunian alights readily on the most naturally vocalised and lyrical
qualities of the trumpet whilst also exploiting the instruments dynamic
articulation in thrilling guration and a dazzling culminating cadenza.
Whilst it has been suggested that the work suers from derivative and
nostalgic Russian gestures (including a delightfully Polovtsian middle
section), the rich melodic character, taut structure and generosity of spirit
have ensured that it remains a central work in the armoury of every self-
respecting solo trumpet player. It was most famously recorded by
Timofei Dokschitzer with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra under Gennadi
Rozhdestvensky but since then has been recorded by ne players from
Maurice Andr to Alison Balsom.
12
EDVARD MIRZOIAN
Edvard Mirzoyan, May 12, 1921 October 5, 2012, was an Armenian
composer. Mirzoyan was born in Gori, Georgia. Initially schooled in
music in Yerevan and graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory.
Mirzoyan went to Moscow to further rene his art. In late 1956 he was
elected president of the Armenian Composers Union, a position he held
until 1991. He was a professor of composition at the Komitas State
Conservatory and president of the Peace Foundation of Armenia. Edvard
Mirzoyans compositional output is relatively small but quite
distinguished, combining graceful lyricism with intense drama. With its
formal structure and tonal design, his style has been described as
Neoclassical, with elements of Armenian folksong always present.
Mirzoyans String Quartet, Cello Sonata, Symphony for Strings and
Timpani, and Epitaph for String Orchestra have become notable
additions to the repertoire.
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AVET TERTERIAN
Avet Terterian (also Alfred Roubenovich Terterian or Terteryan) (July 29,
1929 in Baku, Azerbaijan December 11, 1994 in Yekaterinburg, Russia)
was an Armenian composer, awarded the Konrad Adenauer Prize.[2] He
was a friend and colleague of Giya Kancheli, Konstantin Orbelyan, and
Tigran Mansuryan. Dmitri Shostakovich praised Terterian as "very
talented" and "with great future" in one of his letters, published by his
friend Isaak Glikman, having heard a recording of Terterian's works at
Armenia's "House of Composers" summer resort, in Dilijan, Armenia. He
composed eight (completed) symphonies, an opera and several chamber
works. Several of his symphonies are recorded, as noted in one of the
pages linked. (The date 1973 in the Musicweb review of the Melodiya
recording of symphony 3 is probably a typographical error, since the
publisher's listing also gives 1975 for the rst performance of that work.)
Yekaterinburg's annual music festival is named after him.
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ALEXANDER SPENDIARIAN
Spendiaryan was born on November 1 (os October 20), 1871 in Kakhovka,
province of Tavrik (modern Ukraine) in an Armenian family whose
ancestry originated from Ani. His artistic abilities were formed in early
childhood. He inherited his musical abilities from his mother who played
piano. When Spendiaryan was seven he wrote a waltz. In 1890 he went to
Moscow and studied for one year in the Natural Sciences faculty of
Moscow University, and then in 1895 he graduated from the Law faculty.
At the same time he continued his violin classes. In 1896 Spendiaryan
went to St. Petersburg to show his compositions to Nikolai Rimsky-
Korsakov, who greatly admired his music and encouraged him to turn
deeper into his people's folklore. From 1896 to 1900 he took private
composition lessons with Rimsky-Korsakov. According to Alexander
Glazunov, "Rimsky-Korsakov was perfectly satised with the results of
Spendiaryan's work and considered him a serious, talented composer
with a great air for composition". Spendiaryan was awarded the Glinka
prize three times for his three works: the symphonic picture "Tree palms"
in 1908, the legend "Preacher Beda" in 1910 and the melody declamation
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"Well have a rest" in 1912. His symphonic pieces, songs and romances,
choral works, and musico-declamatory pieces earned him high marks
amongst audiences and professional musicians. Being a capable
conductor, he was able to train the members of orchestras to play well
during rehearsals. Spendiaryan led concerts in Kharkov, Odessa,
Moscow, Petersburg, Doni-Rostov and New Nakhijevan. He spent much
of his time in Yalta and Sudak. While he was living in Crimea,
Spendiaryan met Anton Chekhov, Maxim Gorky and Fyodor Shalyapin.
Alexander Glazunov was also a guest at his house. In 1910 Spendiaryan
became a member of Yalta's Russian Musical Company. The symphonic
poem "Three Palms" occupies a special place among Spendiaryan's
symphonic compositions. With its poetic tone, its picturesque nature,
and bright colouring, it resembles the oriental programme works of the
Mighty Handful. Spendiaryan toured abroad performing this original
piece in Berlin, Copenhagen, New York and elsewhere. Other works by
Spendiaryan include "Concert Prelude", "Concert Waltz", and "Etude of
Jewish Themes", Cantabile and Prelude for the string quartet, Baracarolle,
Minuet, Scherzo, romances and vocal instrumental works. "Oh Rose" (Aye
Vart) was a very famous classical piece in Russia and former USSR. In
1916 Spendiaryan performed in Tiis where he met poet Hovhannes
Tumanian and decided to write an opera based on "The Capture of
Tmpkabert" poem. In 1916 the libretto of Almast opera was ready, and
Spendiaryan began work on the opera, and nished the opera's vocal
score in 1923. He continued his work on the instrumentation right up to
his death. The instrumantation of the forth act of "Almast" was
completed by M. O. Shteinburg.
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KONSTANTIN ORBELIAN
A talented composer of classical music (symphony, ballet, chamber
ensemble), jazz, and popular songs, Konstantin Orbelian is one of the
brightest phenomena of Soviet and post-Soviet musical culture. He is the
recipient of signicant awards in the former Soviet Union, the Armenian
Republic, and the international musical community. He has received the
highest accolades from the three Soviet presidents: the award For
Services to Labor from Khrushchev; the title Peoples Artist of the USSR
from Brezhnev, and, nally, the Friendship of Peoples prize from
Gorbachev in 1989. Konstantin Orbelian has been acknowledged as a
pianist and improviser since he was in his teens. At age fteen, he was
invited to perform with the Armenian State Pop Orchestra; and
subsequently became its conductor. Under his able direction for thirty-
six years, the Orchestra rose to become one of the most accomplished of
its kind. As a result, it came to represent Soviet jazz in more than thirty
countries in Eastern and Western Europe, the Near East, Africa, and
Southeast Asia. One of the Orchestras highlights was its American tour
in 1975, which included twenty-ve concerts in major cities from coast to
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coast. Graduating in composition and piano from Edward Mirzoyans
class of composition at Yerevans Komitas Conservatory in 1963, Orbelian
achieved early recognition for his String Quartet, winning the coveted
First Prize at the International Competition in Moscow, where the
chairman of the Competitions panel of judges was the composer Dmitri
Shostakovich. As a result, Orbelians rising talent and success were noted
with great appreciation by the doyen of Armenian music of the time,
Aram Khachaturian. Next followed the premiere of Orbelians First
Symphony in Moscows famous Tchaikovsky Hall by the USSR State
Symphony Orchestra. For this Symphony, Orbelian was awarded the title
Laureate of the All-Union Competition. His subsequent Celebration
Overture achieved the same acclaim. His ballet symphony Immortality
was composed in 1975 and performed by the Yerevan Opera and Ballet
Theater. This work, too, won First Prize in an All-Union Competition
devoted to music for the stage. One of Orbelians more recent
compositions in the classical idiom, an orchestral miniature with solo
piano, was written in memory of George Gershwin, and was rst
performed by the Moscow Chamber Orchestra under the direction of
Orbelians nephew, Constantine Orbelian. Ever versatile in the scope of
his repertoire, Konstantin Orbelian has written musical scores for a
number of lms, including Krkesi Chanaparhin [On the Way to the Circus]
and Sirte Yergum e [The Heart Sings]; music for the theater; pop songs;
jazz; and scores for stage musicals. Several of these compositions have
won prestigious prizes. The subject of two documentary lms in Russian,
Orbelian is currently vice-president of the International Association of the
Union of Musicians in Moscow.
20
TIGRAN MANSURIAN
Tigran Mansurian, born 27 January 1939, is an Armenian composer of
classical music and lm scores. Born in Beirut, Mansurian moved with
his family back to their ancestral Armenia in 1947, and studied at the
Yerevan Conservatory of which he would eventually become the director.
In the 1960s he was attracted by the ideas of the Western new music
avant-garde but became increasingly convinced of the importance of the
spirit of place and of composing in an authentically Armenian voice. Our
position on the map of music and culture, he has written, is exactly on
the spot where East and West meet. It is this special vantage point that
res his creative imagination. Tigran Mansurian remains fascinated by
the relationship of Armenias sacred music to its folk songs, so
powerfully brought together in the work of Komitas, an enduring
influence. In 2000, Mansurian recorded his own arrangements of Komitas
on Hayren, a disc that also included premiere recordings of his music for
viola and percussion, played by Kim Kashkashian and Robyn
Schulkowsky. This was followed by Monodia, the wide-ranging composer
portrait album, recorded 2001-2002, with cast including Kim Kashkashian,
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Leonidas Kavakos, Jan Garbarek, the Hilliard Ensemble and the Munich
Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Poppen. The album
"Monodia" was nominated for the 2005 Grammy Award for "Best
Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)" and "Best Classical
Contemporary Composition".
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ROBERT AMIRKHANIAN
Robert Amirkhanyan, born on November 16, 1939 in Yerevan, is an
Armenian composer and songwriter. Professor of Yerevan State
Conservatory.
In 1969 he graduated from the Composer department of Yerevan State
Conservatory. From 1969 to 1972 Amirkhanyan was the musical editor of
Armenian Radio. Since 1991 he is the head of the Union of Composers
and Musicologists of Armenia.
He is an author of many popular Armenian songs ("Hayreni yerkir", "Hayi
achker", "Ding-dong") and soundtracks of lms and animation cartoons.
Among the best known is the song "Arise!."
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24
STEPHAN ELMAS
Stephan Elmas was an Armenian composer, pianist and teacher. Elmas
was born into a family of wealthy entrepreneurs in Smyrna (now zmir), a
city in the Ottoman Empire. It was soon discovered that the little boy was
a child prodigy: he began taking piano lessons and writing short piano
pieces under the tutelage of a local music teacher, Mr. Moseer, and
already at the age of thirteen, the young virtuoso performed an all-Liszt
piano recital. Elmas composed rapidly and with great ease. Perhaps this
explains why he sometimes did not revise his compositions suciently.
However, many of his works are of high quality and perhaps he was most
successful in composing his elegant and stylish salon pieces. These
pieces seem to be composed for an earlier time: Elmass compositions
tend to hearken back towards the style of earlier, Romantic composers,
rather than forward to the challenging times that were shaping the
musical world at the beginning of the new century. Established in 1988
under the artistic guidance of Alexandre Siranossian, the Stephan Elmas
Foundation aims to disseminate the legacy of the Armenian composer.
Recently, the composers works have been experiencing a revival, thanks
25
to the efforts of pianist Armen Babakhanian.

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ASHOT ZOHRABIAN
Ashot Zohrabyan is an esteemed Armenian composer of mostly
orchestral, chamber and vocal works that have been performed in
Europe and elsewhere. Zohrabyan pursued his musical education at the
Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory from 1967 to 1972, studying
composition with Professor Grigori Yeghiazaryan. Following his
graduation, he entered the faculty of the Conservatory, rst as a teacher
of music theory and instrumentation, and later as Professor of
Composition (since 1980). His music has been performed throughout
Armenia, as well as in Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraine, Belgium,
France, Germany, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and the US. Zohrabyan's
musical language is thoroughly interwoven with the musical tradition of
his native Armenia. His compositions are marked by strict logic and
general transparency, whilst the minutest structural details are worked
out throughout the development of the piece. The composer
concentrated on instrumental music from the outset of his career,
showing marked preference for chamber genres. While still a student of
Yeghiazaryan's at the conservatory, Zohrabyan wrote a number of works
27
for various instrumental combinations. He conned himself to chamber
music in order to be able to concentrate on every detail, polish o the
musical text and achieve inner harmony. His ideas found their most
graphic realization in the two books of his Boomerang Games for
instrumental ensemble, written some time after his graduation from the
conservatory. Performed in Yerevan and at the Georges Pompidou
Cultural Centre in Paris, this work summed up seven years of tireless
searchings on the part of Ashot Zohrabyan. Outstanding musicians, such
as the cellist Medea Abramyan and members of the Yerevan Chamber
Orchestra, readily perform his works on the concert stage, where they are
invariably acclaimed as original and attractive compositions. His works
have also been performed during various festivals, such as the Holland
Festival in the Netherlands.
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ALAN HOVHANNES
Alan Hovhaness was an Armenian-American composer. He was one of
the most prolic 20th-century composers, with his ocial catalog
comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate
over 70) and 434 opus numbers. However, the true tally is well over 500
surviving works since many opus numbers comprise two or more
distinct works. Alan Hovhaness ranks among the most intrepid of
musical explorers in 20th century classical music. He was a widely
recorded and lauded composer in the 1950's and 60's, and the recipient
of numerous awards. Rather ahead of his time aesthetically, he has,
since the 1990's, enjoyed something of a revival on CD and radio, as
audiences have 'caught up' with him. Yet there is little scholarly
commentary on Hovhaness despite the wealth of radical individuality in
some phases of his six decades of creativity. This is somewhat surprising
given that during the 1940's and 50's he was rmly entrenched within
that maverick group of American composers (others included Henry
Cowell, Jonn Cage and Lou Harrison) who spearheaded one of the great
shifts in 20th century American music, namely that of looking to non-
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Western cultures for creative renewal in art music. In addition,
Hovhaness spearheaded quasi-aleatoric textural music as early as the
1940's, a technique which became known as 'ad libitum' in the 1960's.
The composer's huge output of more than 500-odd works was unusually
diverse, prompting lively debate and opinion over the perceived merits of
certain musical phases over others. Like other 20th century restless
creators, such as Villa Lobos and Henry Cowell to name but two,
Hovhaness did not set out to write a polished masterpiece with every
work. But as Leonard Bernstein remarked in 1960, Some of Hovhaness's
music is very, very good. Indeed, Hovhanesss best works stand
shoulder-to-shoulder with those of Americas most lauded composers,
and many are more original if lesser known. But Hovhaness was an
outsider by temperament and choice, his artistic credo somewhat
impermeable to musical fashion and his aesthetic intent often more in
sympathy with the Orient than Occident. Investigation of Hovhanesss
best music reveals a unique and thoroughly convincing assimilation of
highly disparate traditions coming to the fore and receding over the
course of his career, including Renaissance polyphony, South Indian
classical music, Japanese Gagaku music and Korean Ah-ak music. Of
course, many 20th century composers irted with such exotica, but in
Hovhaness they nd perhaps the most seamless alchemy of all because
it was more than mere irtation. It was a musical engagement on an
aesthetic as well as technical level.
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GHAZAROS SARIAN
Ghazaros Saryan was born into a family of distinguished Armenian
artists. He is the son of renowned painter Martiros Saryan and the
grandson of the prominent writer Ghazaros Aghayan. Musically gifted,
Ghazaros attended the Yerevan State Conservatory from 1934 to 1938,
where he studied composition with Sargis Barkhudaryan and Vardges
Talyan. Afterwards, he travelled to Moscow and enrolled in the
composition class of Vissarion Shebalin at the Gnessin State Musical
College. With the outbreak of World War II in 1941, Ghazaros was drafted
into the Soviet army and served actively until 1945. Subsequently, he
entered the Moscow Conservatory. Among his composition teachers
were Dmitri Kabalevsky, Dmitri Shostakovich and Anatoly Nikolayevich
Alexandrov. Saryan graduated in 1950. Upon his return to Armenia,
Saryan joined the faculty of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory
where he taught orchestration. During 1955-56, he was chairman of the
Armenian Composers' Union. In 1960, he was appointed rector of the
Conservatory, a position he retained until 1986. Saryan taught
composition as well, training such distinguished Armenian composers as
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Tigran Mansurian, Rober Altunyan, Vardan Adjemyan and Ruben
Sargsyan. Ghazaros Saryan was essentially a composer of symphonic
oeuvre, in which beautiful surface textures are juxtaposed with
adventurous rhythmic and harmonic experimentation. His music
displays a keen and sophisticated musical intellect, characterized by
authenticity and integrity. Mr. Saryan has also written a number of
notable works for chamber music, as well as several lm scores.Saryan
has received many awards, including the People's Artist of the Armenian
SSR (1983) and the People's Artist of the USSR (1991). For his military
service he was decorated with the Red Star Medal. Performed widely
within the former Soviet Union, Saryans music is gradually obtaining
greater recognition in European music capitals. His Armenia: Symphonic
Panels was performed in 1991 at the Pierre Boulez Contemporary Music
Center in Metz, France, and his Passacaglia was presented in 1995 during
the Athens Music Festival.
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STEPAN SHAKARIAN
Famous Armenian jazz and classical composer Stepan Shakaryan was
Born in 23.10.1935 in Baku, but he likes to say that he was born in
Airplane, because he knows many cultures and has dierent nations'
classical and jazz compositions: Russian, American, French, Italian,
Chinese etc... Studied at the conservatories of Yerevan, Moscow and
Leningrad (St. Petersburg). He is the only Armenian student of Aram
Khachatryan.
Now he works in Yerevan State Conservatory After Komitas and plays Jazz
in Gafesjian Art Museum.
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34
CHARLES AZNAVOUR
Shahnour Vaghenag Aznavourian better known by his stage name
Charles Aznavour (born 22 May 1924) is a French Armenian singer,
songwriter, actor, public activist and diplomat. Besides being one of
France's most popular and enduring singers, he is also one of the best-
known singers in the world. Aznavour is known for his unique tenor
voice: clear and ringing in its upper reaches, with gravelly and profound
low notes. He has appeared in more than sixty movies, composed about
a thousand songs (including at least 150 in English, 100 in Italian, 70 in
Spanish, and 50 in German), and sold well over 100 million records.
In 1998, Aznavour was named Entertainer of the Century by CNN and
users of Time Online from around the globe. He was recognized as the
century's outstanding performer, with nearly 18% of the total vote, edging
out Elvis Presley and Bob Dylan. He has sung for presidents, popes and
royalty, as well as at humanitarian events, and is the founder of the
charitable organization Aznavour for Armenia along with his long-time
friend impresario Levon Sayan.
In 2009, he was appointed ambassador of Armenia to Switzerland, as well
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as Armenia's permanent delegate to the United Nations at Geneva.
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ABOUT
This book is a complete collection of famous Armenian Composer's
Biographies. Find the most gifted and great composers such as Aram
Ilich Khachaturian, Arno Arutiunich Babajanian, Edvard Mikhaelich
Mirzoian and a lot more. This is a non commercial project so the book is
free and for everyone. Thanks to Music Of Armenia Website and
Wikipedia for the main information about the great composers. Thank
you for downloading this book!
Best Wishes from`Armenian Music Creators Community & Mkhitaryan
Production.
AMCC2014 All Rights Reserved
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