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Aram Ilyich Khachaturian (; rus, Арам Ильич Хачатурян, , ɐˈram ɨˈlʲjitɕ xətɕɪtʊˈrʲan, Ru-Aram Ilyich Khachaturian.ogg; hy, Արամ Խաչատրյան, ''Aram Xačʿatryan''; 1 May 1978) was a
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading
Soviet composers
This is an alphabetical list of significant composers who were born or raised in Russia or the Russian Empire.
A
* Els Aarne (1917–1995), born in present-day Estonia
* Evald Aav (1900–1939), born in present-day ...
.
Born and raised in
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
, the multicultural capital of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, Khachaturian moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
in 1921 following the Sovietization of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
. Without prior music training, he enrolled in the
Gnessin Musical Institute, subsequently studying at the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
in the class of
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is som ...
, among others. His first major work, the
Piano Concerto
A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...
(1936), popularized his name within and outside the Soviet Union. It was followed by the
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
(1940) and the
Cello Concerto (1946). His other significant compositions include the ''
Masquerade Suite'' (1941), the
Anthem of the Armenian SSR
The State Anthem of the Armenian SSR ( hy, Հայկական ՍՍՀ օրհներգ, translit=Hajkakan SSH orhnerg) was the national anthem of Armenia when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and known as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. ...
(1944), three symphonies (1935, 1943,
1947
It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Events
January
* January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...
), and around 25 film scores. Khachaturian is best known for his ballet music—''
Gayane'' (1942) and ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
'' (1954). His most popular piece, the "
Sabre Dance
"Sabre Dance", ''Suserov par''; russian: Танец с саблями, ''Tanets s sablyami'' is a Movement (music), movement in the final act of Aram Khachaturian's ballet ''Gayane (ballet), Gayane'' (1942), where the Ballet dancer, dancers dis ...
" from ''Gayane'', has been used extensively in popular culture and has been performed by a number of musicians worldwide.
His style is "characterized by colorful harmonies, captivating rhythms, virtuosity, improvisations, and sensuous melodies".
During most of his career, Khachaturian was approved by the Soviet government and held several high posts in the
Union of Soviet Composers
The Union of Russian Composers (formerly the Union of Soviet Composers, Order of Lenin Union of Composers of USSR () (1932- ), and Union of Soviet Composers of the USSR) is a state-created organization for musicians and musicologists created in 193 ...
from the late 1930s, although he joined the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
only in 1943. Along with
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
and
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
, he was officially denounced as a "
formalist" and his music dubbed "anti-people" in 1948 but was restored later that year. After 1950 he taught at the Gnessin Institute and the Moscow Conservatory and turned to conducting. He traveled to Europe, Latin America and the United States with concerts of his own works. In 1957 Khachaturian became the Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers, a position he held until his death.
Khachaturian composed the first Armenian
ballet music
Ballet as a music form progressed from simply a complement to dance, to a concrete compositional form that often had as much value as the dance that went along with it. The dance form, originating in France during the 17th century, began as a thea ...
, symphony, concerto, and film score. He is considered the most renowned Armenian composer of the 20th century. While following the established musical traditions of Russia, he broadly incorporated
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
and, to lesser extent,
Caucasian
Caucasian may refer to:
Anthropology
*Anything from the Caucasus region
**
**
** ''Caucasian Exarchate'' (1917–1920), an ecclesiastical exarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Caucasus region
*
*
*
Languages
* Northwest Caucasian l ...
, Eastern and Central European, and Middle Eastern peoples' folk music in his works. He is
highly regarded in Armenia, where he is considered a "national treasure".
Biography
Background and early life (1903–21)
Aram Khachaturian was born on 6 June (24 May in
Old Style
Old Style (O.S.) and New Style (N.S.) indicate dating systems before and after a calendar change, respectively. Usually, this is the change from the Julian calendar to the Gregorian calendar as enacted in various European countries between 158 ...
) 1903 in the city of Tiflis (present-day
Tbilisi
Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
) into an
Armenian
Armenian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent
** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...
family.
Some sources indicate
Kojori
Kojori ( ka, კოჯორი) is a small town ('' daba'') in Georgia, some 20 kilometers southwest of the nation's capital of Tbilisi. It is a so-called "climate resort" and home to several holiday homesf the Tbilisite families.
South of the ...
, a village near Tiflis, as his birthplace.
Khachaturian himself said he was born in Kojori. His father, Yeghia (Ilya), was born in the village of
Upper Aza near
Ordubad
Ordubad is the second largest city of Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic and the capital of an eponymous district. Ordubad is a medieval city of the Caucasus and in its current capacity of a town was founded in the 18th century. The town ...
in
Nakhichevan (present-day
Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic ( az, Naxçıvan Muxtar Respublikası, ), is a landlocked exclave of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republic with a popula ...
, Azerbaijan) and moved to Tiflis at the age of 13; he owned a bookbinding shop by the age of 25. His mother, Kumash Sarkisovna, was from
Lower Aza, also a village near Ordubad. Khachaturian's parents were betrothed before knowing each other, when Kumash was 9 and Yeghia was 19. They had 5 children, one daughter and four sons, of whom Aram was the youngest.
Khachaturian received primary education at the commercial school of Tiflis, a school for merchants. He considered a career either in medicine or engineering.
In the 19th and early 20th centuries and throughout the early Soviet period, Tiflis (known as Tbilisi after 1936) was the largest city and the administrative center of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
. In Tiflis, which has historically been multicultural, Khachaturian was exposed to various cultures.
The city had a large
Armenian population and was a major Armenian cultural center until the
Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...
and the following years. In a 1952 article "My Idea of the Folk Element in Music", Khachaturian described the city environment and its influence on his career:
In 1917, the Bolsheviks rose to power in Russia in the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
. After over two years of fragile independence, Armenia fell to Soviet rule in late 1920. Georgia was also Sovietized by the spring of 1921. Both countries
formally became part of the Soviet Union in December 1922.
Education (1922–36)
In 1921, the eighteen-year-old Khachaturian moved to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
to join his oldest brother, Suren, who had settled in Moscow earlier and was a stage director at the
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...
by the time of his arrival.
He enrolled at the
Gnessin Musical Institute in 1922, simultaneously studying biology at the
Moscow University
M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU; russian: Московский государственный университет имени М. В. Ломоносова) is a public research university in Moscow, Russia and the most prestigious ...
.
He initially studied the cello under Sergei Bychkov and later under Andrey Borysyak.
In 1925,
Mikhail Gnessin started a composition class at the institute, which Khachaturian joined. In this period, he wrote his first works: the ''Dance Suite'' for violin and piano (1926) and the Poem in C Sharp Minor (1927).
Beginning with his earliest works, Khachaturian extensively used Armenian folk music in his compositions.
In 1929, Khachaturian entered the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
to study composition under
Nikolai Myaskovsky
Nikolai Yakovlevich Myaskovsky or Miaskovsky or Miaskowsky (russian: Никола́й Я́ковлевич Мяско́вский; pl, Mikołaj Miąskowski, syn Jakóbowy; 20 April 18818 August 1950), was a Russian and Soviet composer. He is som ...
and orchestration under
Sergei Vasilenko
Sergei Nikiforovich Vasilenko (russian: Серге́й Никифорович Василенко, ''Sergej Nikiforovič Vasilenko''; – 11 March 1956) was a Russian and Soviet composer, conductor and music teacher whose compositions showed a str ...
. He finished the conservatory in 1934 and went on to complete his graduate work in 1936.
Early career (1936–48)
His Armenian-influenced First Symphony, which Khachaturian composed as a graduation work from the Moscow Conservatory in 1935, "drew the attention of prominent conductors and was soon performed by the best Soviet orchestras"
and was admired by Shostakovich.
He began an active creative career upon completing his graduate studies at the conservatory in 1936.
He wrote his first major work, the
Piano Concerto
A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...
, that year.
It proved to be a success, establishing him as a respected composer in the Soviet Union.
It was "played and acclaimed far beyond the borders of the Soviet Union",
and "established his name abroad".
His Piano Concerto, along with the two later concertos—the
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
(1940), for which he won a
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
, second class.
and the
Cello Concerto (1946)—are "often considered a kind of a grand cycle".
The Violin Concerto "gained international recognition"
and became part of the international repertory.
It was first performed by
David Oistrakh
David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor.
Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...
.
Khachaturian held important posts at the
Composers' Union, becoming deputy chairman of the Moscow branch in 1937. He subsequently served as the Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee (Orgkom) of the Union between 1939 and 1948.
He joined the Communist Party in 1943. "Throughout the early and mid-1940s, Khachaturian used that position to help shape Soviet music, always stressing but technically masterful composition. In fact, in his memoirs he reported pride about leading an institution that organized creative work in many musical genres and especially in all Soviet republics."
The years preceding and following World War II were very productive for Khachaturian. In 1939 he made a six-month trip to his native Armenia "to make a thorough study of Armenian musical folklore and to collect folk-song and dance tunes" for his first ballet, ''Happiness'' which he completed in the same year. "His communion with Armenia's national culture and musical practice proved for him as he put it himself, 'a second conservatoire'. He learned a lot, saw and heard many things anew, and at the same time he had an insight into the tastes and artistic requirements of the Armenian people." In 1942, at the height of the Second World War, he reworked it into the ballet ''
Gayane''. It was first performed by the Kirov Ballet (today known as
Mariinsky Ballet
The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...
) in
Perm
Perm or PERM may refer to:
Places
*Perm, Russia, a city in Russia
** Permsky District, the district
**Perm Krai, a federal subject of Russia since 2005
**Perm Oblast, a former federal subject of Russia 1938–2005
**Perm Governorate, an administra ...
, while
Leningrad was under siege. It was a great success that earned Khachaturian his second Stalin Prize, this time first-class.
Khachaturian returned the prize money to the state with a request to use it for building a tank for the Red Army.
He composed the
Second Symphony (1943) on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
and incidental music to ''
Masquerade'' (1944), "a symphonic suite in the tradition of lavish classical Russian music", on
Mikhail Lermontov
Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov (; russian: Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjurʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲɛrməntəf; – ) was a Russian Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called "the poet of the Caucas ...
's
play of the same title.
Both the ballet ''Gayane'' and the Second Symphony were "successful and were warmly praised by Shostakovich".
In 1944, Khachaturian composed the largely symbolic
Anthem of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
The State Anthem of the Armenian SSR ( hy, Հայկական ՍՍՀ օրհներգ, translit=Hajkakan SSH orhnerg) was the national anthem of Armenia when it was a republic of the Soviet Union and known as the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. ...
.
Denunciation and restoration (1948)
In mid-December 1947, the Department for Agitation and Propaganda (better known as
Agitprop
Agitprop (; from rus, агитпроп, r=agitpróp, portmanteau of ''agitatsiya'', "agitation" and ''propaganda'', "propaganda") refers to an intentional, vigorous promulgation of ideas. The term originated in Soviet Russia where it referred to ...
) submitted to
Andrei Zhdanov
Andrei Aleksandrovich Zhdanov ( rus, Андре́й Алекса́ндрович Жда́нов, p=ɐnˈdrej ɐlʲɪˈksandrəvʲɪtɕ ˈʐdanəf, links=yes; – 31 August 1948) was a Soviet politician and cultural ideologist. After World War ...
, the secretary of the
Communist Party's Central Committee, a document on the "shortcomings" in the development of Soviet music. On 10–13 January 1948, a conference was held at the
Kremlin
The Kremlin ( rus, Московский Кремль, r=Moskovskiy Kreml', p=ˈmɐˈskofskʲɪj krʲemlʲ, t=Moscow Kremlin) is a fortified complex in the center of Moscow founded by the Rurik dynasty, Rurik dynasty. It is the best known of th ...
in the presence of seventy musicians, composers, conductors and others who were confronted by Zhdanov:
During the course of the conference, the newly appointed head of the Union of Soviet Composers,
Tikhon Khrennikov
Tikhon Nikolayevich Khrennikov (russian: Тихон Николаевич Хренников; – 14 August 2007) was a Russian and Soviet composer, pianist, and General Secretary of the Union of Soviet Composers (1948–1991), who was also known ...
complained that Khachaturian's ''Symphonic Poem'' had its premier in a half empty hall and that "everyone thought that Khachaturian's Cello Concerto was rubbish". In response, Khachaturian who admitted that speaking at such an event made him nervous conceded that composers of more complex work might be guilty of ignoring popular taste, thinking that it would catch up with them in time. Zhdanov interrupted to say that such an attitude was "extreme individualism". Khachaturian and other leading composers were denounced by the Communist Party as followers of the alleged
formalism
Formalism may refer to:
* Form (disambiguation)
* Formal (disambiguation)
* Legal formalism, legal positivist view that the substantive justice of a law is a question for the legislature rather than the judiciary
* Formalism (linguistics)
* Scient ...
(i.e. "
type ofmusic that was considered too advanced or difficult for the masses to enjoy")
and their music was dubbed "anti-people". It was the Symphonic Poem (1947), later titled the
Third Symphony, that officially earned Khachaturian the wrath of the Party.
Ironically, he wrote the work as a tribute to the 30th anniversary of the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
.
He stated: "I wanted to write the kind of composition in which the public would feel my unwritten program without an announcement. I wanted this work to express the Soviet people's joy and pride in their great and mighty country."
Musicologist Blair Johnston believes that his "music contained few, if any, of the objectionable traits found in the music of some of his more adventuresome colleagues. In retrospect, it was most likely Khachaturian's administrative role in the Union
f Soviet Composers perceived by the government as a bastion of politically incorrect music, and not his music as such, which earned him a place on the black list of 1948."
In March 1948,
Khachaturian "made a very full and humble apology for his artistic 'errors' following the Zhdanov decree; his musical style, however, underwent no changes".
He was sent to Armenia as a "punishment",
and continued to be censured.
Edward Rothstein
Edward Benjamin Rothstein (born October 16, 1952) is an American critic. Rothstein wrote music criticism early in his career, but is best known for his critical analysis of museums and museum exhibitions.
Rothstein holds a B.A. from Yale Universi ...
argued that Khachaturian suffered less than Shostakovich and Prokofiev, "perhaps because of his folkloric and simple musical style."
By December 1948 he was restored to favor, receiving praise for his score for ''Vladimir Ilyich Lenin'' (
ru), a film biography of the Soviet leader.
Later life (1950–78)
In 1950, Khachaturian began conducting
and started teaching composition at his alma maters—the
Gnessin Institute
Gnesin, or Gnessin (russian: Гнесин) is a Jewish Russian surname:
* Fabian Osipovich Gnesin (1837–1891), an official rabbi of Rostov-on-Don and father of a prominent Jewish Russian family of musicians and philanthropists.
:* Sisters Gnesi ...
(since 1950), and later at the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
(since 1951).
During his career as a university professor, Khachaturian emphasized the role of folk music to his students and instilled the idea that composers should master their nations' folk music heritage.
In 1950, he began working on his third and last ballet, ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
'' (1950–54), which later proved to be his last internationally acclaimed work.
He revised ''Spartacus'' in 1968.
He was named People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1954.
Under
Georgy Malenkov
Georgy Maximilianovich Malenkov ( – 14 January 1988) was a Soviet politician who briefly succeeded Joseph Stalin as the leader of the Soviet Union. However, at the insistence of the rest of the Presidium, he relinquished control over the par ...
's brief rule, in 1954, Khachaturian became a mouthpiece, along with
Ilya Ehrenburg
Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg (russian: link=no, Илья́ Григо́рьевич Эренбу́рг, ; – August 31, 1967) was a Soviet writer, revolutionary, journalist and historian.
Ehrenburg was among the most prolific and notable autho ...
, to "assure Soviet intellectuals that the ideological controls imposed by the draconic Zhdanov decrees of 1946–48 would be at least temporarily lifted."
After completing ''Spartacus'', since the late 1950s, Khachaturian focused less on composition, and more on conducting, teaching, bureaucracy and travel.
He served as the President of the Soviet Association of Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with Latin American States from 1958 and was a member of the
Soviet Peace Committee The Soviet Peace Committee (SPC, also known as Soviet Committee for the Defense of Peace, SCDP, russian: Советский Комитет Защиты Мира) was a state-sponsored organization responsible for coordinating peace movements active ...
(since 1962).
"He frequently appeared in world forums in the role of champion of an apologist for the Soviet idea of creative orthodoxy."
Khachaturian toured with concerts of his own works in around 30 countries, including in all the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
states,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(1950), Britain (1955, 1977), Latin America (1957) and the United States (1960, 1968).
His January 1968 visit to U.S. capital of Washington, D.C. was a significant one. He conducted the
National Symphony Orchestra
The National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1930, its principal performing venue is the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. It also performs for the annual National Mem ...
in a program of his own works.
Khachaturian went on to serve again as Secretary of the
Composers Union, starting in 1957 until his death.
He was also a deputy in the fifth
Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
The Supreme Soviet of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics ( rus, Верховный Совет Союза Советских Социалистических Республик, r=Verkhovnyy Sovet Soyuza Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respubl ...
(1958–62).
In the last two decades of his life, Khachaturian wrote three concert rhapsodies—for violin (1961–62), cello (1963) and piano (1965)
—and solo sonatas for unaccompanied cello, violin, and viola (1970s), which are considered to be his second and third instrumental trilogies.
Music
Khachaturian's works span a broad range of musical types, including ballets, symphonies, concertos, and film scores. Music critic
Edward Greenfield
Edward Harry Greenfield OBE (3 July 1928 – 1 July 2015) was an English music critic and broadcaster.
Early life
Edward Greenfield was born in Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex. His father, Percy Greenfield, was a manager in a labour exchange, while his ...
expresses the opinion that Khachaturian "notably outshone other Soviet contemporaries in creating a sharply identifiable style, something which his successors have found impossible to emulate".
He composed a great portion of his works in a ten-year span between 1936 and 1946, preceding and following the Second World War. Despite his formal restoration after the 1948 denunciation, Khachaturian only succeeded in composing one internationally acclaimed work in the last 30 years of his life, the ballet ''Spartacus''.
According to James Bakst, what made Khachaturian unique among Soviet composers is "the blending of national Armenian vocal and instrumental intonations with contemporary orchestral techniques". Khachaturian's music is characterized by an active rhythmic development, which reaches either a mere repetition of the basic formula (
ostinato
In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...
) or "a game of emphasis within this formula".
Works
Ballet
Khachaturian is best known internationally for his ballet music. His second ballet, ''
Gayane'', was largely reworked from his first ballet, ''Happiness''.
Anna Kisselgoff Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''The New York Times''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she h ...
called it "one of the staples of the Soviet and Eastern European ballet repertory." ''
Spartacus
Spartacus ( el, Σπάρτακος '; la, Spartacus; c. 103–71 BC) was a Thracian gladiator who, along with Crixus, Gannicus, Castus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising ...
'' became his most acclaimed work in the post-Stalin period. These two compositions "remain his most successful compositions".
According to Jonathan McCollum and Andy Nercessian, his music for these two ballets "can safely be included among the best known pieces of classical music throughout the world, a fact that is vitalized by perception that these are perhaps the only works through that the world really knows Armenian music".
''Spartacus'' was popularized when the "Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia" was used as the theme for a popular
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
drama series ''
The Onedin Line
''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.
The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...
'' during the 1970s.
The climax of ''Spartacus'' was also used in films such as ''
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
'' (1979) and ''
Ice Age: The Meltdown'' (2006).
Joel Coen
Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...
's ''
The Hudsucker Proxy
''The Hudsucker Proxy'' is a 1994 screwball comedy film co-written, produced, and directed by the Coen brothers. Sam Raimi co-wrote the script and served as second unit director. The film stars Tim Robbins as a naïve but ambitious business scho ...
'' (1994) also prominently featured music from ''Spartacus'' and ''Gayane'' (the "Sabre Dance" included).
''Gayane''s "Adagio" was used, among other films, in
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
's futuristic film ''
2001: A Space Odyssey''.
Orchestral music
Khachaturian wrote three symphonies: the First in 1934/5, the
Second
The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...
in 1943, and the
Third
Third or 3rd may refer to:
Numbers
* 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3
* , a fraction of one third
* Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute''
Places
* 3rd Street (d ...
in 1947.
He also wrote three concertos: the
Piano Concerto
A piano concerto is a type of concerto, a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for a piano player, which is typically accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuoso showpiec ...
(1936), the
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
(1940), and the
Cello Concerto (1946).
Other compositions
Khachaturian wrote
incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
for several plays, including ''
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...
'' (1934, 1955), ''
The Widow from Valencia'' (1940), ''
Masquerade'' (1941), ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
'' (1958).
Khachaturian was the first Soviet composer to write music for
sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...
s.
He produced around 25
film scores
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
.
Among them is ''
Pepo
PEPO Lappeenranta (abbreviated PEPO) is a football club from Lappeenranta in Finland. The club was formed in 1958 and their home ground is at the Kimpinen Sports Centre. The men's first team currently plays in the Ykkönen (Second Division). ...
'' (1935), the first Armenian sound film.
In 1950 he was awarded the Stalin Prize for the score of ''
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
'' (1949).
Influences
Musicologist
Marina Frolova-Walker
Marina Frolova-Walker FBA (russian: link=no, Марина Фролова-Уокер; born 1966) is a Russian-born British musicologist and music historian, who specialises in German Romanticism, Russian and Soviet music, and nationalism in m ...
describes Khachaturian as the only internationally renowned Soviet composer "who emerged from the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
project". James Bakst interpreted Khachaturian's views as follows: "Music is a language created by the people. The people create intonational music forms which reveal at once his national elements of an art work."
Composer
Tigran Mansurian
Tigran Yeghiayi Mansurian ( hy, Տիգրան Եղիայի Մանսուրյան; born 27 January 1939) is a leading Armenian composer of classical music and film scores, People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1990), and Honored Art Worker of the Arm ...
suggested that Khachaturian's music incorporates American characteristics and called the United States his "second homeland" in terms of musical influences, especially due to the sense of optimism in his works and lifestyle. Soviet musicologist Boris Yarustovsky argued that the influence from American culture was heard in some of the words of Khachaturian.
Armenian folk music
![Komitas 1902](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/71/Komitas_1902.jpg)
Khachaturian is widely known for his use of folk songs of various ethnic groups in his compositions, most notably those of Armenians. Rosenberg argued that despite not having been born in Armenia, Khachaturian was "essentially an Armenian composer whose music exhibits his Armenian roots". "
ny of his compositions evoke an Armenian melodic line. However, his works markedly differed from the conventional orchestrations of folk themes", writes
Rouben Paul Adalian
Rouben Paul Adalian is the Director of the Armenian National Institute in Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National ...
. He suggests that Khachaturian's works carry "the vibrant rhythms and stirring pace of Caucasian dance music", but at the same time are "original compositions that reworked that cultural material through new instrumentation and according to European musical canons, resulting in a sound unique to the composer".
Richard Taruskin
Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
argued that "Khachaturian's 'Armenian' style was largely adapted from Gnesin's all-purpose Orientalist idiom."
Khachaturian was particularly influenced by the folk-song collector, musicologist
Komitas
Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas, ( hy, Կոմիտաս; 22 October 1935) was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national scho ...
,
and composers
Alexander Spendiaryan
Alexander Afanasyevich Spendiarov (Spendiaryan) (russian: Александр Афанасьевич Спендиаров, hy, Ալեքսանդր Ստեփանոսի Սպենդիարյան, November 1, 1871, Kakhovka, Russian Empire – May 7 ...
and
Romanos Melikian
Romanos Melikian ( hy, Ռոմանոս Հովակիմի Մելիքյան; October 1, 1883, Kizlyar – March 30, 1935, Yerevan) was an Armenian composer.
He finished the Rostov Musical College, then the classes of Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov and B. Ya ...
. Khachaturian acknowledged that Komitas "singlehandedly laid the foundations for Armenia's classical tradition". In a 1969 article about Komitas, Khachaturian called him his "greatest teacher".
His plans to write an opera "on the destiny of the Armenian people, the tragic fate of Armenians scattered all over the world, their suffering and the struggle" never realized, and his "Armenian Rhapsody for mouth-organ and orchestra, intended for his close friend
Larry Adler
Lawrence Cecil Adler (February 10, 1914 – August 6, 2001) was an American harmonica player. Known for playing major works, he played compositions by George Gershwin, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Malcolm Arnold, Darius Milhaud and Arthur Benjamin. ...
and the
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra (CSO) was founded by Theodore Thomas in 1891. The ensemble makes its home at Orchestra Hall in Chicago and plays a summer season at the Ravinia Festival. The music director is Riccardo Muti, who began his tenure ...
" remained uncompleted. "Yet the intention, the spirit, was always there."
Khachaturian emphasized his Armenian origin, stating:
Other folk music
During his university years, Khachaturian
transcribed Armenian, Russian, Hungarian, Turkish and other folk songs. In his mature works, Khachaturian used elements from folk songs of Caucasian (including, but not limited to
Georgians
The Georgians, or Kartvelians (; ka, ქართველები, tr, ), are a nation and indigenous Caucasian ethnic group native to Georgia and the South Caucasus. Georgian diaspora communities are also present throughout Russia, Turkey, G ...
), Eastern European (
Ukrainians
Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...
,
Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...
) and Middle Eastern (
Turks
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
,
Kurds ug:كۇردلار
Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ir ...
) peoples. His first ballet, ''Happiness'', incorporates a Ukrainian
gopak, Georgian, Armenian and Russian dances and a
Lezginka
The Lezginka ( lez, Лезги кьуьл; russian: Лезгинка; Tat: ''Ləzgihəngi''; az, Ləzginka or ) is the collective name originally given by Russians to all Caucasian dances united by fast rhythm. It can be solo male or pair danc ...
, an energetic dance of many Caucasian peoples. The ''Masquerade Suite'' includes a
Mazurka
The mazurka (Polish: ''mazur'' Polish ball dance, one of the five Polish national dances and ''mazurek'' Polish folk dance') is a Polish musical form based on stylised folk dances in triple meter, usually at a lively tempo, with character de ...
, a Polish folk dance music.
The ballet ''Gayane'', like its predecessor, features a Lezginka.
Act II of ''Gayane'' "is filled with Kurdish dances".
Russian classical music
Khachaturian is cited by musicologists as a follower of Russian classical traditions. According to the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toronto ...
, he "carried forward into the twentieth century the colorful, folk-inspired style of such nineteenth-century Russian composers as
Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
and
Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
". Like the members of
The Five, especially
Alexander Borodin
Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...
and Rimsky-Korsakov, whose works to some extent served him as a model, Khachaturian drew heavily upon "Eastern" and "Oriental" material in creating compositions in various classical genres and styles of European origin. But Khachaturian's cultural identity and rigorous musical training within the Soviet establishment allowed him to penetrate more deeply to the essence of Eastern and Caucasian music and to incorporate it more fully in his mature work, including the ballets. "Never dissociating himself from the traditions of Russian music, he came to be regarded in Moscow as a mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient, gathering up all the diverse traditions into a grand generalization", concludes
Marina Frolova-Walker
Marina Frolova-Walker FBA (russian: link=no, Марина Фролова-Уокер; born 1966) is a Russian-born British musicologist and music historian, who specialises in German Romanticism, Russian and Soviet music, and nationalism in m ...
.
Khachaturian's influence
Khachaturian's notable students at the
Gnessin Institute
Gnesin, or Gnessin (russian: Гнесин) is a Jewish Russian surname:
* Fabian Osipovich Gnesin (1837–1891), an official rabbi of Rostov-on-Don and father of a prominent Jewish Russian family of musicians and philanthropists.
:* Sisters Gnesi ...
and the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
included foreign composers, such as
Aziz El-Shawan
Aziz El-Shawan (b. Cairo, May 6, 1916; d. Cairo, May 14, 1993) was one of the most prominent Egyptian composers of the twentieth century. He completed his primary and secondary education at the St. Joseph – La Salle College in Khoronfish, Cairo ...
from Egypt and
Anatol Vieru Anatol Vieru (; 8 June 1926 – 8 October 1998) was a Romanian-Jewish music theoretician, pedagogue, and composer. A pupil of Aram Khachaturian, he composed seven symphonies, eight string quartets, concertos, and chamber music. He also wrote t ...
from Romania, and a number of Soviet composers:
Tolib Shakhidi
Tolib-khon Shakhidi (Толиб-хон Шахиди) or Tolib Shahidi ( tg, Толиб Шаҳидӣ/ fa, طالب شهیدی, born 13 March 1946) is a Tajik and Soviet composer who was born in the city of Dushanbe, Tajik SSR. He is a son of th ...
,
Georgs Pelēcis
Georgs Pelēcis (also Georges Pélétsis; born 18 June 1947) is a Latvian composer and musicologist. He is currently a professor at the Latvian Academy of Music.
Compositional career
Pelēcis was born in Riga. He studied under Aram Khachaturian ...
,
Mark Minkov
Mark Anatolievich Minkov (russian: Марк Анатольевич Минков; 25 November 1944 – 29 May 2012) was a Soviet / Russian music composer. His music is featured in a number of operas, ballets, stage performances, and films.
...
,
Alexey Rybnikov
Alexey Lvovich Rybnikov (russian: links=no, Алексей Львович Рыбников; born July 17, 1945) is a modern Russian composer.
He is the author of music for Soviet and Russian musicals (rock operas) '' The Star and Death of Joaqu ...
,
Andrei Eshpai
Andrei Yakovlevich Eshpai (russian: Андре́й Я́ковлевич Эшпа́й; 15 May 1925 – 8 November 2015) was an ethnic Mari (Russian and Soviet) composer. He was awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1981.
Bio ...
,
Albert Markov
Albert Markov (Russian: ''Альберт Александрович Марков''), is a Russian American violinist, composer, conductor, and pedagogue. He is the only concert violinist of the 20th and 21st century who composed major music work ...
, Nodar Gabunia (
ru),
Edgar Hovhannisyan
Edgar Hovhannisyan, Hovhannisian or Oganesian ( hy, Էդգար Հովհաննիսյան; January 14, 1930, Yerevan – December 28, 1998, Yerevan) was an Armenian composer, Professor of Composition at the Yerevan State Conservatory, People' ...
,
Mikael Tariverdiev
Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiev (russian: Микаэл Леонович Таривердиев, hy, Միքայել Թարիվերդիև; 15 August 1931 – 25 July 1996) was a prominent Soviet composer of Armenian descent. He headed the Composers' ...
, Eduard Khagagortyan (
ru).
He inspired young Armenian composers
and had a great influence on the development of Armenian music.
Khachaturian's influence can be traced on
chamber
Chamber or the chamber may refer to:
In government and organizations
* Chamber of commerce, an organization of business owners to promote commercial interests
*Legislative chamber, in politics
* Debate chamber, the space or room that houses delib ...
and
symphonic
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning com ...
music traditions of Armenia, including on
Arno Babajanian,
Edvard Mirzoyan
Edvard Mik'aeli Mirzoyan ( hy, Էդվարդ Միքայելի Միրզոյան; May 12, 1921 – October 5, 2012) was an Armenian composer.
Edvard Mirzoyan was born in Gori, Georgia. He called himself an atheist, but added, "There is only one pla ...
, and
Konstantin Orbelyan
Konstantin Aghaparonovich Orbelyan ( hy, Կոնստանտին Օրբելյան; russian: Константин Агапаронович Орбелян; July 29, 1928 – April 24, 2014) was an Armenian pianist, composer, head of the State Estrada Or ...
, among others.
Khachaturian also had an influence on composers of Azerbaijan,
Central Asia
Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...
and
East Asia
East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The modern states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. China, North Korea, South Korea and ...
. The music of the Japanese composer
Roh Ogura had the influence of Khachaturian in "its rhythms and scoring."
Harold C. Schonberg
Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was chief music critic from 1960 to 1980. In 1971, he became the fi ...
argued that Soviet-trained Chinese composers, such as
Li Delun
Li Delun (; 1917–2001) was a Chinese conductor who devoted his life to the promotion of classical music in China. Hailed as the father of China’s classical music, the Li Delun National Conducting Competition was named after him in honour of h ...
, were part of a "school of music strongly indebted to such Socialist-Realistic composers as Aram Khachaturian." Schonberg opined that the Chinese ballet ''
Red Detachment of Women'' "sounds like Russian academism with a touch of Oriental exoticism. It is close to the kind of thing that Aram Khachaturian was writing in such socialist‐real
stballets as ''Spartacus.''"
Personal life and personality
In 1933 Khachaturian married the composer
Nina Makarova
Nina Vladimirovna Makarova (; , Yurino, Nizhny Novgorod Governorate – 15 January 1976, Moscow) was a Russian composer who had great interest in Russian and Mari folksongs. She studied under Nikolai Myaskovsky, like composer Aram Khachaturian, ...
, a fellow student from Myaskovsky's class at the Moscow Conservatory.
Charlotte Curtis
Charlotte Murray Curtis (December 19, 1928 – April 16, 1987) was an American journalist, columnist and editor at ''The New York Times''.
Career
Curtis worked as a reporter and society editor for the ''Columbus Citizen'' for 11 years, and a ...
described her as "a bulky Russian woman with naturally pink cheeks, black hair" who is "widely known as one of the Soviet Union's most popular women composers."
Makarova said of their differences: "He is Armenian — temperamental, strong and a bit Oriental. I am Russian and lyric."
![Komitas Pantheon, Yerevan, Aram Khachaturyan Grave 05](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Komitas_Pantheon%2C_Yerevan%2C_Aram_Khachaturyan_Grave_05.JPG)
In early October 1965, Khachaturian was briefly admitted into a hospital in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
after a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. He died in Moscow on 1 May 1978, after a long illness, just short of his 75th birthday.
He was buried at the
Komitas Pantheon __NOTOC__
Komitas Park and Pantheon ( hy, Կոմիտասի անվան զբոսայգի և պանթեոն) is located in Yerevan's Shengavit District, on the right side of the main Arshakunyats Avenue, in Armenia. It was formed in 1936 after the de ...
in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...
on 6 May, next to other distinguished Armenians.
His nephew,
Karen Khachaturian
Karen Surenovich Khachaturian (russian: Карэн Суренович Хачатурян, hy, Կարեն Խաչատրյան) (Moscow, 19 September 1920 – Moscow, 19 July 2011) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Armenian ethnicity and the neph ...
, was also a composer.
In 1968 ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' music critic Harriett Johnson characterized Khachaturian as "sturdy, stocky and youthful."
In ''Testimony (Volkov book), Testimony'', attributed by Solomon Volkov to
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
, the author wrote: "Meeting Khachaturian means, first of all, eating a good, filling meal, drinking with pleasure, and chatting about this and that. That's why, if I have the time, I never turn down a meeting with him." Shostakovich described his outlook as "a basically optimistic, life-asserting view of our reality." While the German conductor Kurt Masur, who met him several times, said Khachaturian was "sometimes an uncomfortable person."
Views
![Khachaturian Supreme Soviet credentials](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fa/Khachaturian_Supreme_Soviet_credentials.jpg)
Khachaturian was an atheist. When asked about his visit to the Vatican City, Vatican, Khachaturian has been quoted as having said: "I'm an atheist, but I'm a son of the [Armenian] people who were the first to officially adopt Christianity and thus visiting the Vatican was my duty."
Khachaturian always remained enthusiastic about communism. Jeffrey Adams argues that he was a "loyal Communist ideologue" who was "devoted to making art relevant to the common worker." He wrote: "the
October Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key moment ...
fundamentally changed my whole life and, if I have really grown into a serious artist, then I am indebted only to the people and the Soviet Government. To this people is dedicated my entire conscious life, as is all my creative work."
Khachaturian denied any censorship of his music in the Soviet Union and when asked about 1948 purges, he said: "Well, they thought my music was too loud, I did write for 15 trumpets and even Leopold Stokowski, Stokowski decided against our doing that music when he found out the instrumentation. But I wouldn't change it. The composer must stick to his conception."
In January 1971, Khachaturian, along with Shostakovich, Igor Moiseyev, Maya Plisetskaya called on President Richard Nixon to free Angela Davis. In 1973 he joined eleven Soviet composers in condemning the nuclear physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov after he met with Western correspondents.
Recognition and reputation
Khachaturian is generally considered one of the leading composers of the Soviet Union.
Alongside
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his Symphony No. 1 (Shostakovich), First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throug ...
and
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
, he has been generally cited as one of the three greatest composers of the Soviet era. The music critic Ronald Crichton wrote on his death that, in his lifetime, Khachaturian "ranked as the third most celebrated Soviet composer after Shostakovich and Prokofiev."
According to the Los Angeles Philharmonic, "his works do not enjoy the international reputation that those of" Shostakovich and Prokofiev do.
With these two and Dmitry Kabalevsky, Khachaturian "was one of the few Soviet composers to have become known to the wider international public". According to music historian Harlow Robinson, "his proletariat origins, non-Russian ethnic origins and Soviet training [made him] a powerful symbol within the Soviet musical establishment of the ideal of a multinational Soviet cultural identity, an identity which the composer enthusiastically embraced and exploited both at home and abroad". Unlike Prokofiev and Shostakovich, Khachaturian was "entirely a creation of the Soviet musical and dance establishment".
Reputation in the West
Josef Woodard, writing for the ''Los Angeles Times'', suggests that Khachaturian has long been considered a "lighter-weight participant among 20th-century composers", while classic music broadcaster Norman Gilliland describes him as a "major" composer of the 20th century.
Richard Taruskin
Richard Filler Taruskin (April 2, 1945 – July 1, 2022) was an American musicologist and music critic who was among the leading and most prominent music historians of his generation. The breadth of his scrutiny into source material as well as ...
argued in 1996 that Khachaturian has not been "certified as [a] great artist by the promoters of classical music." ''New York Times'' critic
Harold C. Schonberg
Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was chief music critic from 1960 to 1980. In 1971, he became the fi ...
was often critical of Khachaturian. In 1968 he wrote that "Even at his best he was a minor figure, and his music these days has little to offer. Not because it is conventional, but because its materials and ideas are second-rate."
Although describing him as an important and highly popular composer and a "man of pronounced gifts", Schonberg argued on his death in 1978 that Khachaturian "frankly composed popular music" and that after being exposed to his work it becomes evident that it is mostly "formula writing". While praising his work as exotic and colorful, he described Khachaturian as a "bureaucratic composer, turning out well-crafted pieces of no particular personality, and certainly nothing that would rock the boat".
In 1968 ''
New York Post
The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com.
It was established ...
'' music critic Harriett Johnson argued that while some may describe Khachaturian's style as "pop," she praised "the individuality of his melodies, infiltrated as they are with Oriental flavor of his Armenian heritage" and "the elemental surge of his rhythm which easily grows wild."
She described him as an "immense musician who believes in the peasant heart and who has said so unabashedly in his music."
Tim Ashley wrote in ''The Guardian'' in 2009 that Khachaturian's popularity fell in the West, because of his image as one of Soviet music's ":wikt:yes man#English, yes-men". He argued, "Such a view is simplistic, given that he had a major brush with the authorities in 1948." In 2003 conductor Marin Alsop opined that Khachaturian is "very underperformed" and "somewhat underrated․"
In Armenia
![Aram Khachaturian mural in Yerevan](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f6/Aram_Khachaturian_mural_in_Yerevan.jpg)
Khachaturian was the most renowned Armenian composer of the 20th century,
and the most famous representative of Soviet Armenian culture. He has been described as "by far the most important Armenian composer", the "Armenian Tchaikovsky", and deemed a key figure in 20th-century Armenian culture. He remains the only Armenian composer to rise to international significance. Khachaturian is credited for bringing Armenian music worldwide recognition. Şahan Arzruni has described Khachaturian as "the musical ambassador of Armenian culture".
One of the "modern icons of Armenian pride", Khachaturian is considered a national treasure, and is celebrated by the Armenian people "as a famous son who earned world-wide recognition".
Posthumous honors and tribute
![50 Armenian dram - 1998 (obverse)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/50_Armenian_dram_-_1998_%28obverse%29.png)
The philharmonic hall of the Yerevan Opera Theater has been officially called the Aram Khachaturian Grand Concert Hall since 1978. The House-Museum of Aram Khachaturian in Yerevan was inaugurated in 1982.
In 1998, the Central Bank of Armenia issued 50-Armenian dram, dram banknotes depicting Khachaturian's portrait and the Yerevan Opera Theater on the obverse and an episode from the ballet ''Gayane'' and Mount Ararat on the reverse. It remained in use until 2004 when it was replaced by a coin.
He is one of the two composers depicted on the Armenian currency (the other is
Komitas
Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas, ( hy, Կոմիտաս; 22 October 1935) was an Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national scho ...
, who is depicted on the 10,000 dram banknote since 2018).
In 2013, the UNESCO inscribed a collection of Khachaturian's handwritten notes and film music in the Memory of the World Register.
Music schools are named after Khachaturian in Tbilisi, Moscow (established in 1967, named after him in 1996), Yerevan,
Khojavend (town), Martuni, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown, Massachusetts, U.S. (run by the Hamazkayin). Streets in Yerevan, Tbilisi, Moscow (:ru:Улица Хачатуряна (Москва), ru), Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan) and Simferopol (Crimea) are named after Khachaturian.
In 1993 the festival of symphonic music Aram Khachaturian-93 was held in Yerevan.
The Aram Khachaturian International Competition (Արամ Խաչատրյանի անվան միջազգային մրցույթ) is held annually in Yerevan since 2003.
Statues
![Aram khachaturian yerevan opera](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/29/Aram_khachaturian_yerevan_opera.jpg)
On 31 July 1999 a three-and-a-half meter high statue of Khachaturian in 19th-century Realism (arts), realist style by Yuri Petrosyan was unveiled before the Khachaturian Hall of the Yerevan Opera Theater in attendance of President Robert Kocharyan, Speaker Karen Demirchyan and leading poet Silva Kaputikyan. On 30 April 2013, a bust of Khachaturian erected by sculptor Gevorg Gevorgyan was opened in the street named after him in Yerevan's Arabkir district by Yerevan Mayor Taron Margaryan on his 110th anniversary.
A statue of Khachaturian by Georgiy Frangulyan was unveiled in Moscow on 31 October 2006. Notable attendees included Armenian President Kocharyan, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov and Russia's First Lady Lyudmila Putina. Busts of Khachaturian by the Armenian sculptor Mikael Soghoyan were erected at the
Moscow Conservatory
The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...
in 2017 and in front of an arts school named after him in Nizhny Novgorod in August 2021.
Films
In 1977, a year before his death, Studio Ekran made a documentary on Khachaturian.
In 1983, the Yerevan Studio produced another TV documentary on him.
In 2003, an 83-minute-long documentary about Khachaturian with unique footage was directed by Peter Rosen and narrated by Eric Bogosian. The film won the Best Documentary at the 2003 Hollywood Film Festival. In 2004, Russia-K (TV channel), TV Kultura, Russia's government-owned art channel, made a documentary on Khachaturian entitled ''Century of Aram Khachaturian'' (Век Арама Хачатуряна).
Awards and honors
Soviet Union
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![HeroOfSocialistLabour](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/HeroOfSocialistLabour.jpg)
Hero of Socialist Labour (1973)
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![Order of Lenin ribbon bar](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d7/Order_of_Lenin_ribbon_bar.png)
Order of Lenin (1939, 1963, 1973)
*
![People Artist of the USSR1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/People_Artist_of_the_USSR1.jpg)
People's Artist of the USSR (1954), People's Artist of the RSFSR, Russian SFSR (1947), People's Artist of the Armenian SSR, Armenian SSR (1955), People's Artist of the Georgian SSR, Georgian SSR (1963), People's Artist of the Azerbaijani SSR, Azerbaijan SSR (1973)
*Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR (1938), Russian SFSR (1944), Uzbek SSR (1967)
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![Orderredbannerlabor rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Orderredbannerlabor_rib.png)
Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1945, 1966)
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![Order october revolution rib](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Order_october_revolution_rib.png)
Order of the October Revolution (1971)
*Lenin Prize (1959) for the ballet ''Spartacus''
*
Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to:
* The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize
The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...
(1941 for Violin Concerto, 1943 for ballet ''Gayane'', 1946 for the Second Symphony, 1950 for the film ''
The Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad (23 August 19422 February 1943) was a major battle on the Eastern Front of World War II where Nazi Germany and its allies unsuccessfully fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (later re ...
''
*USSR State Prize (1971 for the Triad of Concerto-Rhapsodies: for violin and orchestra; for cello and orchestra; for piano and orchestra)
Other states
*Order of the Science of Art of the United Arab Republic (1961, "for outstanding musical achievements")
*Medal of Pope John XXIII (1963)
*Medal of the Iranian Shah (1965)
*Honored Art Worker of Polish People's Republic (1972, "for contribution to the Polish culture")
*
![Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Commandeur ribbon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Ordre_des_Arts_et_des_Lettres_Commandeur_ribbon.svg)
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (France) and title of Commandeur (1974)
Academic titles
*Professor of Music — 1950
*Honorary Member of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, Italy — 1960
*Academician#Corresponding Member, Corresponding Member of the Academy of Arts, Berlin, Academy of Arts of the German Democratic Republic — 1961
*Honorary Professor of the Conservatorio Nacional de Música (Mexico), Conservatorio Nacional de Música, Mexico — 1960
*Academician, Full Member (Academician) of the Armenian National Academy of Sciences, Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR — 1963
*Doctor of Arts (Доктор искусствоведения), Academy of Sciences of the USSR — 1965
References
Notes
Citations
Bibliography
Books and book chapters
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Dictionary and encyclopedia articles
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AllMusic*
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Journal articles
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* [an essay praising Khachaturian]
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archived
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External links
Virtual Museum of Aram KhachaturianAram Khachaturian: An Introduction2014 documentary
2003 documentaryon SnagFilms
1967 headshot portrait of Khachaturian. Photo by Horst Tappeat Getty Images
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Khachaturian, Aram
1903 births
1978 deaths
20th-century Armenian musicians
20th-century classical composers
20th-century conductors (music)
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Concert band composers
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Fifth convocation members of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union
Gnessin State Musical College alumni
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Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
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People's Artists of the USSR
Stalin Prize winners
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Recipients of the Decoration of Honor Meritorious for Polish Culture
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
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Burials at the Komitas Pantheon