The Komitas Quartet is a string quartet musical ensemble founded in Moscow in November 1924, and is the oldest-established string quartet in the world still performing. It is now in the third and fourth generation of membership.

Original line-up

The founding members were four talented Armenian students at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory:
1st violin: Avet Gabrielyan
2nd violin: Levon Ogandjanyan
Viola: Mikael Terian (Микаэл Тэриан)
Cello: Sergey Aslamazian This group gave its first public performance in February 1925.

Origins

This group, the best-known

Armenian music The music of Armenia ( hy, հայկական երաժշտություն ''haykakan yerazhshtut’yun'') has its origins in the Armenian highlands, dating back to the 3rd millennium BCE, and is a long-standing musical tradition that encompasse ...

group, carries the name of

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 sch ...

(Soghomon Soghomonyan, 1869–1935). Komitas was a monk whose genius brought a renaissance to

at the turn of the 20th century. During its uninterrupted creative life, celebrating its 85th anniversary in 2009, the quartet has become well known throughout the world, taking part in numerous international festivals, giving concerts in more than 80 countries, and demonstrating the highest standards of performance. The quartet has performed with

Sviatoslav Richter Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...

Nina Dorliak Nina Dorliak (russian: Нина Львовна Дорлиак, translit=Nina L'vovna Dorliak; 7 July 190817 May 1998) was a Russian soprano and a voice teacher at the Moscow Conservatory. She is known for forming a duo with pianist Sviatoslav Ri ...

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels ( Russian: Эми́ль Григо́рьевич Ги́лельс; 19 October 1916 – 14 October 1985) was a Russian pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. Early life and educati ...

, Dmitri Shostakovich, Mstislav Rostropovich,

Victor Merzhanov Victor Karpovich Merzhanov (russian: Ви́ктор Ка́рпович Мержа́нов) (15 August 191920 December 2012) was a Russian pianist and People's Artist of the USSR (1990). Biography Merzhanov was born in Tambov and studied at Tam ...

Konstantin Igumnov Konstantin Nikolayevich Igumnov (russian: Константи́н Никола́евич Игу́мнов; , 1873 – March 24, 1948) was a Soviet and Russian pianist and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1946). Biography Igumnov studie ...

, Walter Zeufert, Mario Brunello, Anahit Nersesyan and other prominent musicians.

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 ...

described the quartet as the jewel of the musical culture of Armenia. Many Armenian and foreign composers have dedicated works to the quartet. The quartet was the

USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, Gosudarstvennaya premiya SSSR) was the Soviet Union's state honor. It was established on 9 September 1966. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, t ...

and Armenian SSR State Prize winner. The latest award is St. Mesrop Mashtots order given by Armenia President to Eduard Tadevosyan in 2010. The current members of the quartet are the third and fourth generation of players.

Current line-up

* 1st violin: Eduard Tadevosyan * 2nd violin: Syuzi Yeritsyan * Viola: Aleksandr Kosemyan * Cello: Angela Sargsyan

Premieres

Recordings

The quartet made a number of collection recordings in the

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

and released numerous albums in Russia, the United Kingdom, France and the United States. The latest CDs were released in recent three years. In 2007 "Armenian Contemporary Composers" studio album was released on the VEM label. In 2002, the CD was released "On the Fortieth Day" on Traditional Crossroads label in New York, with "Two Devotions" by the composer Vache Sharafyan. The next edition of th
"Armenian Folk Miniatures"
album was released in November 2010 by subvention of the Ministry of Culture of

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...

Management

* Arman Padaryan 2002–2011 * Wise Business since 2011

References

External links

Komitas Quartet - Armenian National Music

Official site of the Komitas Quartet

Virtual Museum of Komitas Vardapet
{{authority control Armenian musical groups Soviet musical groups Musical groups established in 1924 Russian string quartets