Vazgen Muradian (October 17, 1921 - February 18, 2018) was an Armenian-American

neo-classicist Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism w ...

composer known for having written

concerti A concerto (; plural ''concertos'', or ''concerti'' from the Italian plural) is, from the late Baroque era, mostly understood as an instrumental composition, written for one or more soloists accompanied by an orchestra or other ensemble. The typi ...

for every instrument in the orchestra. Among the instruments he is most noted for having created works for are the clarinet, the

tuba The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th century, making it one of the ne ...

, the bassoon ("The Big Bassoon") and the

Viola d'amore The viola d'amore (; Italian for "viol of love") is a 7- or 6- stringed musical instrument with sympathetic strings used chiefly in the baroque period. It is played under the chin in the same manner as the violin. Structure and sound The vio ...

Biography

Born in

Ashtarak Ashtarak (Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, located on the left bank of Kasagh River along the gorge, northwest of the capital Yerevan. It is the administrative centre of the Aragatsotn pr ...

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 ' ...

, Muradian was drafted into the

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

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 opposing ...

and saw action against

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

on the Eastern Front. Following the Soviet collapse against the invading German army, he became a refugee from both Nazis and the Soviets and performed with the Stanislav Symphony Orchestra, the Lvov Opera, and on the vaudeville stage in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. His travels during this period also brought him to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and

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

and finally to

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, where he settled to study. In Venice, he enrolled at the

Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia The Conservatorio di Musica Benedetto Marcello di Venezia is a conservatory in Venice, Italy named after composer Benedetto Marcello and established in 1876. History The conservatory was established in 1876 as ''Liceo e Società Musicale Benedet ...

and studied composition with

Gabriele Bianchi Gabriele Bianchi (27 August 1901 – 8 October 1974) was an Italian composer, conductor and teacher. He was born in Verona Verona ( , ; vec, Verona or ) is a city on the Adige River in Veneto, Italy, with 258,031 inhabitants. It ...

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

with Luigi Ferro, and Viola d’amore with Renzo Sabatini. 1948 saw Muradian graduate from the conservatory with a degree as a professor of music. Still in Venice, he took a position teaching at the Moorat Raphael College. In 1950 he left

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 ...

for to the United States, where he resided until his death in 2018 and where he wrote all of his major musical compositions. Henceforth he played violin in several musical ensembles including the

New Orleans Symphony Orchestra The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is an American orchestra based in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is the only full-time, professional orchestra in the Gulf South. The orchestra performs at the Orpheum Theater. The Louisiana Philharmonic O ...

. He then removed himself as an orchestra member to focus solely upon composition. His works have been performed by the

Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra The Armenian National Philharmonic Orchestra (''ANPO'') (Armenian: Հայաստանի ազգային ֆիլհարմոնիկ նվագախումբ) is the national orchestra of Armenia. It was founded in 1925 as a symphony orchestra of the Yerevan S ...

, the Chicago Chamber Orchestra, the Little Orchestra Society of New York, the New Jersey Association of Verrisimo opera, and the Viola d’amore Society of America, among others. Muradian is known for having composed for every instrument in the classical orchestra as well as others not included in it. As of his seventieth birthday in 1991 he had composed 62 concerti for 35 different instruments. ''The Guide to the Tuba repertoire'', published by Indiana University Press and edited by

R. Winston Morris Ralph Winston Morris (born January 19, 1941 in Barnwell, South Carolina) is an American tubist. He served as professor of tuba and euphonium at Tennessee Tech University in Cookeville, Tennessee, for 55 years, and subsequent to his retirement af ...

refers to his "Concerto for Tuba and Orchestra, Opus 85" as ...."A melodic neo-romantic work which takes the soloist through much of their range in a mostly diatonic fashion. The music contains passion reminiscent of the composer's homeland"... Vazgen Muradian resided in New York City until his death in February 2018. He was predeceased by his wife Arpi. Together they have two sons, Armen Morian and Vardges "Vago" Muradian and two grandchildren. His brother was the Armenian poet

Gevorg Emin Gevorg Emin (, September 30, 1919 – June 11, 1998) was an Armenian poet, essayist, and translator. Biography Emin, the son of a school teacher, was born in the town of Ashtarak. In 1927, his family moved to Yerevan, the capital of Sovie ...

References

External links

* Adagio e Rondo in E Minor, Opus 1

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muradian, Vazgen 1921 births 2018 deaths Armenian composers American people of Armenian descent Armenian musicians Soviet military personnel of World War II Soviet expatriates in Italy Soviet emigrants to the United States