Edward Manukyan (born July 27, 1981) is a composer from
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. His main works are orchestral and chamber compositions, which lean heavily upon elements of Armenian national
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
.
Early life
It was not until his last years in high school that Manukyan showed interest in composing music. In 1997, he won state scholarship to study languages and psychology at the
Yerevan State Linguistic University
Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences ( hy, Երևանի Բրյուսովի անվան պետական լեզվահասարակագիտական համալսարան), is a public university in Yerevan the capital of Arm ...
. During his student years, he committed himself to studying music and immediately began concentrating on composition. He became a member of local chamber orchestras, writing material for their repertoires. He also formed his own jazz quartet and gave concerts at various venues in
Yerevan
Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...
.
Career
Upon moving to
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
in 2002, Manukyan shifted his interests towards contemporary classical music after studying the works of his compatriot
Aram Khachaturian
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 and Armenia ...
. A cover-story article in the ''Glendale News-Press'', published on October 23, 2007, shed some light on the composer's unusual start in classical music.
In 2004, Manukyan took composition classes from
Rowan Taylor and went on to further study with composers John Kennedy and
James Newton. He earned his master's degree in Music Composition from the California State University, Los Angeles (2007). Since then, the composer has been collaborating with musicians from all continents, engaging them in concerts, lecture-recitals, and other events.
Manukyan has dedicated many of his compositions to scientists, such as biologists
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson (born April 6, 1928) is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist. In 1953, he co-authored with Francis Crick the academic paper proposing the double helix structure of the DNA molecule. Watson, Crick and ...
,
Francis Crick, physicists
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg (; May 3, 1933 – July 23, 2021) was an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interac ...
,
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman (; May 11, 1918 – February 15, 1988) was an American theoretical physicist, known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics, the physics of the superfl ...
, linguist
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky (born December 7, 1928) is an American public intellectual: a linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes called "the father of modern linguistics", Chomsky i ...
, and astronomer
Victor Ambartsumian. He created a project called "Musical Tribute To Scientists and Other People of Reason", which includes lectures on science and philosophy, along with performances of his music. Among the events presented by the project (organized by
MIT
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
and
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
) was an honorary concert for Noam Chomsky, at
Kresge Auditorium
Kresge Auditorium (MIT Building W16) is an auditorium structure at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the Finnish-American architect Eero Saarinen, with g ...
, in Cambridge, MA.
[
] Manukyan's activism for science is often balanced with his anti-war rhetoric, which could be heard in songs he wrote on words by Chomsky,
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, (18 May 1872 – 2 February 1970) was a British mathematician, philosopher, logician, and public intellectual. He had a considerable influence on mathematics, logic, set theory, linguistics, ...
,
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov ( rus, Андрей Дмитриевич Сахаров, p=ɐnˈdrʲej ˈdmʲitrʲɪjevʲɪtɕ ˈsaxərəf; 21 May 192114 December 1989) was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident, nobel laureate and activist for n ...
and others. The scientists celebrated in his concert series are usually known for their activism and struggle for human rights and civil liberties.
Style and influences
Edward Manukyan's compositional style was mainly influenced by the middle-generation Soviet composers, such as
Aram Khachaturian
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 and Armenia ...
,
Dmitry Shostakovich and
Sergey Prokofiev, as well as the Armenian successors of their traditions,
Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigori Arutiunian ( hy, Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan, Harutyunian or Harutiunian (23 September 1920 – 28 March 2012), was a Soviet and Armenian compos ...
,
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 plan ...
,
Tigran Mansuryan
, native_name_lang =
, birth_name = Tigran Yeghiayi Mansurian
, alias =
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Beirut, Greater Lebanon
, origin = Armenian SSR
, death_date =
, death_place =
, gen ...
, etc. Later he drew influences from
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...
and
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
, striving for a contemporary style that is accessible for larger audiences, in part due to its closeness to Armenian folk music.
Main works
Orchestral
* Concerto for piano and orchestra (2004)
* ''Three Pieces'', for orchestra (2005)
* ''Images of Armenia'', suite for orchestra (2005)
** ''Dance-Introduction''
** ''Fanfare of Nostalgia''
** ''Capriccio''
** ''Romance''
** ''Patriotic March''
* ''Hello, Armenia!", overture for symphony orchestra (2005)
* ''Elegia'' for wind orchestra (2006)
* Symphony No. 1 (2006)
Chamber
* Suite for brass quartet Nos. 1 & 2 (2005)
* ''Brass Quintet'' (2005)
* ''Song and Dance'', for violin and piano (2005)
* Concerto for chamber ensemble (2006)
* Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (2007)
* ''Esquisse'', for violin and piano (2007)
* ''Miniature'', for clarinet and piano (2007)
* ''Three Scenes From a Peasant's Life'', for solo violin (2007)
* ''Double Helix'', for clarinet and violin (2008)
Piano
* ''Caucasian Waltz'' (2003)
* Dance for piano duo (2003)
* ''Elegia'' (2006)
* ''Ten Pieces'' for piano (2006)
Vocal
* Songs on words by Armenian poets, for voice and piano (2006)
* ''Five Songs'', for voice and piano (2006)
* ''Three Songs About Love'', for high voice and piano (2008)
* ''Three Passions'', for high voice and piano (2009)
References
External links
An early interview with Edward Manukyan (by Cathy Colman)Video of Manukyan's Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano
{{DEFAULTSORT:Manukyan, Edward
1981 births
Living people
21st-century classical composers
21st-century male musicians
Armenian composers
Armenian expatriates in the United States
Brass band composers
Composers for violin
Male classical composers
Musicians from Yerevan
California State University, Los Angeles alumni
Yerevan Brusov State University of Languages and Social Sciences alumni