Richard Yardumian ( hy, Ռիչարդ Յարդումյան, April 5, 1917 – August 15, 1985) was an Armenian-American

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 ...

composer.

Life

Yardumian was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, the youngest of ten children 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 ...

n immigrant parents, and began studying the piano at a very early age. His mother, Lucia, was a teacher and organist, and his father, Rev Haig Yardumian, was the founding pastor of the Philadelphia Armenian Evangelical community, which later became the Armenian Martyrs' Congregational Church, now located in

Havertown, Pennsylvania Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located approximately 9 miles west of the center of Philadelphia. Havertown's ZIP Code is 19083 and "Havertown" is a posta ...

. Very little has been written about Yardumian's early life, but it is known that his family's household was busy and musical. Elijah Yardumian, a concert pianist and a product of the

Curtis Institute The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on full scholarship. Hi ...

, served as a musical mentor to his younger brother Richard, who began composing at age 14 and began a formal study of piano, harmony, theory and counterpoint at age 21. He was only 19 when he wrote his most popular piece, ''The Armenian Suite''. This work, later recorded by the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription ...

, the Utah Symphony, the

Bournemouth Symphony The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...

, and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, was also used as the signature theme for the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the state-owned news network and international radio broadcaster of the United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international broadcaster. VOA produces digital, TV, and radio content ...

radio program ''Behind the Iron Curtain''. Yardumian's earlier compositions frequently reflect the Armenian folk songs and religious melodies he was exposed to as a child. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

of the 1930s precluded advanced formal music training for Yardumian, but he continued to progress on his own time. He was a private in the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

when, in 1945, Eugene Ormandy and the

premiered ''Desolate City'', which marked Yardumian's debut as a composer. This was also the beginning of his long association with Ormandy, which led to several recordings on the

Columbia Columbia may refer to: * Columbia (personification), the historical female national personification of the United States, and a poetic name for America Places North America Natural features * Columbia Plateau, a geologic and geographic region in ...

label. Throughout the history of their relationship, the Philadelphia Orchestra premiered ten of Yardumian's works, bringing the total of known performances worldwide to nearly 100. This number includes the performances of his ''Story of Abraham'', a multi-media composition that included the broadcast of André Girard's unique hand-painted 70mm film sequences. In 1967,

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

, in celebration of its 125th anniversary, commissioned Yardumian to write his mass, ''Come Creator Spirit'', which was premiered at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

that year with

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 ...

Lili Chookasian. This musically complex piece is now rarely if ever performed, yet it stands as an interesting contribution to the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

musical canon, if for no other reason than for its having been penned by a

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

. In the 1950s, Yardumian began writing hymns for The Lord's New Church Which Is Nova Hierosolyma, a Swedenborgian congregation, in

Bryn Athyn Bryn Athyn is a home rule municipality in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It was formerly a borough, and its official name remains "Borough of Bryn Athyn". The population was 1,375 at the 2010 census. It was formed for religious reasons fro ...

, a church he later joined and for which he became musical director.

Death

Yardumian died of complications following a heart attack at home in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania on August 15, 1985. He was the father of thirteen children, including pianist Vera Yardumian, painter Nishan Yardumian and teacher Esther Yardumian.

Selected recordings

*''Armenian Suite''

*''Cantus animae et cordis'' for strings (1955)

(recorded by Eugene Ormandy and the

in string orchestra form

) *''Chorale-prelude on plainsong Veni Sancte Spiritus'', for orchestra

*Flute Quintet (1951) *Symphony No. 1 (1950), No. 2 ''Psalms'' for medium voice and orchestra (written 1947-6

*Violin Concerto (1949, revised 1960)

*''Passacaglia, Recitative and Fugue'' for piano and orchestra (1957; played by

John Ogdon John Andrew Howard Ogdon (27 January 1937 – 1 August 1989) was an English pianist and composer. Biography Career Ogdon was born in Mansfield Woodhouse, Nottinghamshire, and attended the Manchester Grammar School, before studying at the Ro ...

in concer

and recorded by him twice: with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

under Igor Buketoff; and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Paavo Berglund

). *Chromatic sonata (1946; recorded by John Ogdon on HMV SLS 868)

Discography

* 1960. ''Passacaglia, Recitative, and Fugue; Cantus Animae et Cordis; Chorale-Prelude''. Philadelphia Orchestra: Eugene Ormandy conducting; John Pennink, piano. (Columbia Masterworks MS 6229/ML 5629; LP). * 1963. ''Symphony No. 1; Violin Concerto''. Philadelphia Orchestra: Eugene Ormandy conducting;

Anshel Brusilow Anshel Brusilow (August 14, 1928 – January 15, 2018) was an American violinist, conductor, and music educator at the collegiate level. Early life and education Brusilow was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1928, the son of Ukrainian Jewish ...

, violin. (Columbia Masterworks MS 6462 / ML 5862; LP). * 1964. ''Symphony No. 2; Symphony No. 1; Chorale-Prelude''. Philadelphia Orchestra: Eugene Ormandy conducting; Lili Chookasian, mezzo-soprano. (Columbia Masterworks MS 6859; LP). * 1967. Symphony No. 2 ''"Psalms"''. Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra: Jussi Jalas conducting; Maiju Kuusoja, mezzo-soprano. (Finlandia Classics FINCLA 26; CD). * 1967. ''Come, Creator Spirit: a new Mass in English''. Chamber Symphony of Philadelphia,

conducting (RCA Victor LSC-2979, LP). * 1976. ''Armenian Suite; Cantus Animae et Cordis; Symphony No. 1''. Bournemouth Symphony,

conducting. (EMI EMD 5527; in USA, HNH Records 4043; LP). * 1981. Symphony No. 2 ''"Psalms" and Armenian Suite''. Utah Symphony Orchestra (Varese Sarabande 704.130).

References

*Demirjian, Charles. 2004. "Richard Yardumian: A Profile of the Man, His Music and Mission" Forum Magazine.
Richard Yardumian page at Bach-cantatas.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yardumian, Richard American male classical composers Ethnic Armenian composers American classical musicians of Armenian descent American Swedenborgians 1917 births 1985 deaths 20th-century classical composers Musicians from Philadelphia Armenian Protestants 20th-century American composers 20th-century American male musicians