Tigran Yeghiayi Mansurian ( hy, Տիգրան Եղիայի Մանսուրյան; born 27 January 1939) is a leading

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 of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

and film scores, People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1990), and Honored Art Worker of the Armenian SSR (1984). He is the author of orchestral, chamber, choir and vocal works, which have been played across the world. He was nominated for

Grammy awards The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

in 2004 and 2017.

Biography

Mansurian was born in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

on January 27, 1939. His family moved to

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 ''Ox ...

in 1947 and settled 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 ...

in 1956, where he continued his education. He studied first at the Romanos Melikian Music School under the Armenian composer Edvard Baghdasaryan and later at the

Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan ( hy, Երևանի Կոմիտասի անվան պետական կոնսերվատորիա), also known as Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory (YKSC) or Yerevan State Conservatory (YSC), is a state-owned college ...

. During his years of study, he wrote different works of varied genres and was awarded for some of them. He taught modern music theory at the Conservatory from 1967 to 1986. He was the Rector of the Conservatory from 1992 to 1995. His "Monodia" album was nominated for the 2004

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for "Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra)" and "Best Classical Contemporary Composition." He received the Presidential Award of Armenia for immortalizing the memory of the martyrs and for presenting the

Armenian Genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

to the world through the album “Requiem". This was nominated in two categories, "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" and "Best Choral Performance", at the 60th annual Grammy Awards in 2017.

Recordings

*Tigran Mansurian: ''String Quartets'' - Rosamunde Quartett (

ECM ECM may refer to: Economics and commerce * Engineering change management * Equity capital markets * Error correction model, an econometric model * European Common Market Mathematics * Elliptic curve method * European Congress of Mathematics ...

1905) *Tigran Mansurian: ''"…and then I was in time again", Lachrymae, Confessing with Faith'' – Kim Kashkashian, viola;

Jan Garbarek Jan Garbarek () (born 4 March 1947) is a Norwegian jazz saxophonist, who is also active in classical music and world music. Garbarek was born in Mysen, Østfold, southeastern Norway, the only child of a former Polish prisoner of war, Czesław ...

, soprano saxophone; The Hilliard Ensemble;

Christoph Poppen Christoph Poppen (born 9 March 1956) is a German conductor, violinist and academic teacher. Career Poppen was born in Münster. As a violinist, he was awarded first prize in the Kocian Violin Competition age 14. He studied the violin with Kur ...

, conductor;

Münchener Kammerorchester The Munich Chamber Orchestra (german: Münchener Kammerorchester, links=no, italic=no, or MKO) is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at s ...

. (CD ECM 1850/51) *Tigran Mansurian: ''Havik, Duet for viola and percussion'' – Kim Kashkashian, viola; Robyn Schulkowsky, percussion; Tigran Mansurian, piano, voice. (CD ECM 1754) *Tigran Mansurian: Quasi parlando - Patricia Kopatchinskaja, violin; Anja

Anja Lechner Aanya, Anya or Anja is a given name. The names are feminine in most cultures especially Indian, and unisex in several African and European countries. Origins and variant forms * Aanya or Anya is an Indian name that means inexhaustible, limitless ...

, violonchello; Amsterdam sinfonietta; Candida Thompson. (ECM new series 2323)

Works

Mansurian's compositions range from large scale orchestral works to individual

art song An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...

s. He also composed several film scores between 1968 and 1980. In 2017, Tigran Mansurian released an album entitled ''Requiem'', a collection of eight pieces "Dedicated to memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide." Mansurian's film music is melody, lyricism and greatly contributes to the completion of the film's artistic description. The composer’s works have been performed in the largest concert halls of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

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 ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, and other cities.

Stage

*''The Snow Queen'' (ballet in two acts with a scenario by Vilen Galstyan, after the story by

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fairy tales, consisti ...

), 1989

Orchestral

*''Concerto'', for organ and small orchestra, 1964 *''Partita'', for large orchestra, 1965 *''Music for Twelve Strings'', 1966 *''Preludes'', for large orchestra, 1975 *''To the Memory of Dmitry Shostakovich'', for cello and large orchestra, 1976 *''Canonical Ode'', for harp, organ and 2 string orchestras, 1977 *Concerto No. 2, for cello and string orchestra, 1978 *''Double Concerto'', for violin, cello and string orchestra, 1978 *''Tovem'', for small orchestra, 1979 *''Nachtmusik'', for large orchestra, 1980 *''Because I Do Not Hope'' (in memory of

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 ...

), for small orchestra, 1981 *''Concerto'', for violin and string orchestra, 1981 *''Concerto'' No. 3, for cello and small orchestra, 1983 *''Postludio Concerto'', for clarinet, cello, string orchestra, 1993 *''Concerto'', for viola and string orchestra, 1995 *''Fantasy'', for piano and string orchestra, 2003 *Concerto No. 2 (''Four Serious Songs'') for violin and string orchestra, 2006 *Concerto No. 4 (''Ubi est Abel frater tuus?'') for cello and small orchestra, 2010 *''Romance'' for violin and string orchestra, 2011 *''Quasi parlando'' for cello and string orchestra, 2012

Chamber music

*''Sonata,'' for viola and piano, 1962 *''Sonata'', for flute and piano, 1963 *''Sonata No. 1'', for violin, piano, 1964 *''Allegro barbaro'', for solo cello, 1964 *''Sonata No. 2'', for violin and piano, 1965 *''Piano Trio'', for violin, cello, and piano, 1965 *''Psalm'', for two flutes and violin, 1966 *''Interior'', for

string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinists ...

, 1972 *''Silhouette of a Bird'', for

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, 1971–73 *''Sonata No. 1'', for cello and piano, 1973 *''Sonata No. 2'', for cello and piano, 1974 *''Wind Quintet'', for flute, oboe, clarinet, French horn, and bassoon, 1974 *''The Rhetorician'', for flute, violin, double bass, and harpsichord, 1978 *''Capriccio'', for solo cello, 1981 *''String Quartet No. 1'', 1983–84 *''String Quartet No. 2'', 1984 *''Five Bagatelles'', for violin, cello, and piano, 1985 *''Tombeau'', for cello and percussion, 1988 *''Postludio'', for clarinet and cello, 1991-92 (also has a concerto version) *''String Quartet No. 3'', 1993 *''Concerto'', for English horn, clarinets, bassoons, trumpets, and trombones, 1995 *''Hommage à Anna Akhmatova'', for bass clarinet, qanun (

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat bo ...

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

, and

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

, 1997 *''Duo'', for viola and percussion, 1998 *''Dance'', for viola and percussion, 1998 *''Lacrimae'', for

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

and viola, 1999; *''Lamento'', for violin, 2002 (also has version for viola) *''Three Medieval

Tagh The Tagh ( hy, տաղ) is a genre of Armenian monodic song writing. Its origin is ancient but its content and melodic line can be similar to modern vocal and instrumental compositions. The characteristics of the tagh are its expansiveness of form ...

s'', for viola and percussion, 1998–2004 *''Testament'', for string quartet, 2004 *''Ode an den Lotus'' (Ode to the Lotus) for viola solo, 2012

Piano

*''Sonatina No. 1'', 1963 *''Petite Suite'', 1963 *''Sonata No. 1'', 1967 *''Miniatures'', 1969 *''Three Pieces'', 1970–71 *''Nostalgia'', 1976 *''Three Pieces for the Low Keys'', 1979 *''Sonatina No. 2'', 1987

Choral

*''Three Poems'', for mixed chorus, 1969 (text by Kostan Zaryan) *''Spring Songs'', for mixed chorus, 1996 (text by Hovhannes Tumanyan), *''Confessing with Faith'', for four male voices and viola, 1998 (text by

Nerses Shnorhali Nerses IV the Gracious (; also Nerses Shnorhali, Nerses of Kla or Saint Nerses the Graceful; 1102 – 13 August 1173) was Catholicos of Armenia from 1166 to 1173. A more precise translation of his epithet ''Shnorhali'' is "filled with Grace". He ...

) *''Ars Poetica'' concerto for mixed chorus, 1996–2000 (text by

Yeghishe Charents Yeghishe Charents (; March 13, 1897 – November 27, 1937) was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents' literary subject matter ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialist revolution, and frequently Armenia an ...

) *''Motet'', two mixed choruses, 2000 (text by

Grigor Narekatsi Grigor Narekatsi ( hy, Գրիգոր Նարեկացի; anglicized: Gregory of Narek) ( – 1003/1011) was an Armenian mystical and lyrical poet, monk, and theologian. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches and ...

), *''On the Shores of Eternity'', for mixed chorus, 2003 (text by Avetik Isahakyan)

Vocal

*''Three Romances'', for

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

and piano, 1966 (text by Federico García Lorca, translated into Armenian by

Hamo Sahyan Hamo Sahyan ( hy, Համո Սահյան, also known as ''Hmayak Sahaki Grigoryan''; April 14, 1914 – July 17, 1993) was an Armenian poet and translator. Biography In 1939 Sahyan graduated from the Baku Pedagogical institute. In 1941 he moved ...

) *''Four Hayrens '' for mezzo-soprano (or viola) and piano, 1967 (text by Nahapet Kuchak) *''Intermezzo'', for

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

and ensemble, 1972-73 (text by

Vladimir Holan Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukra ...

), score lost) *''I am Giving You a Rose'', for soprano, flute, cello, and piano, 1974 (text by Matevos Zarifyan) *''Three Nairian Songs'', for

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

and large orchestra, 1975–76 (text by Vahan Teryan) *''Three Madrigals'', for soprano, flute, cello, piano, 1974–81 (text by Razmik Davoyan), *''Sunset Songs'', for soprano and piano, 1984–85 (a

song-cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rarely ...

to text by Hamo Sahyan) *''The Land of Nairi'' for soprano and piano, 1986 (a song-cycle to text by Vahan Teryan), *''Miserere'', for soprano and string orchestra, 1989 (texts by

Saint Mesrob In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Catholic, Eastern Ortho ...

based on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

in Armenian translation) *''Madrigal IV'', for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and tubular bells, 1991 (text by Alicia Kirakosyan) *''Requiem'', for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and string orchestra, 2011

Film scores

*'' The Color of Pomegranates'', 1968 (directed by

Sergei Parajanov Sergei Parajanov, ka, სერგო ფარაჯანოვი, uk, Сергій Параджанов (January 9, 1924 – July 20, 1990) was an Armenian filmmaker. Parajanov is regarded by film critics, film historians and filmmakers t ...

) *The Color of Armenian Land, 1968 (directed by Mikhail Vartanov) *''Autumn Pastoral'', 1971 (directed by Mikhail Vartanov) *''And So Every Day'', 1972 (directed by Mikhail Vartanov) *''

We and Our Mountains We and Our Mountains ( hy, Մենք ենք, մեր սարերը; russian: Мы и наши горы) is a 1969 Armenian comedy film directed by Henrik Malyan and starring Azat Sherents, Frunzik Mkrtchyan and Sos Sargsyan. It is widely considered t ...

'', 1969 (directed by Henrik Malyan) *'' Seasons of the Year'', 1975 (directed by

Artavazd Peleshyan Artavazd Peleshyan ( hy, Արտավազդ (Արթուր) Փելեշյան, Artavazd (Art’ur) P’eleshyan; also ''Pelechian, Peleshian''; born February 22, 1938) is an Armenian director of essay films, a documentarian in the history of film art, ...

) *''Autumn Sun'', 1979 (directed by Bagrat Oganesyan) *''Legend of the Clown'', 1979 (directed by Levon Asatryan) *'' A Piece of Sky'', 1980 (directed by Henrik Malyan) *'' The Tango of Our Childhood'', 1984 (directed by Albert Mkrtchyan)

References

External links

Tigran Mansurian's official web pageTigran Mansurian
on Other Minds Festival website
Tigran Mansurian-Confessing With Music
Documentary Film {{DEFAULTSORT:Mansurian, Tigran 1939 births Living people Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Armenian composers 20th-century classical composers 21st-century classical composers Armenian musicians Musicians from Beirut Lebanese people of Armenian descent Male classical composers 20th-century male musicians 21st-century male musicians