Arno Harutyunovich Babajanian ( hy, Առնո Բաբաջանյան; russian: Арно Арутюнович Бабаджанян; January 22, 1921 – November 11, 1983) was a

Soviet 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 nation ...

and

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 ' ...

n composer and

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

. He was made a People's Artist of the USSR in 1971.

Biography

Babajanian was born 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 ...

on January 22, 1921. By the age 5, his musical talent was apparent, and the composer

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 ...

suggested that the boy be given proper music training. Two years later, in 1928, Babajanian entered the

Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan 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 ...

. In 1938, he continued his studies in Moscow with

Vissarion Shebalin Vissarion Yakovlevich Shebalin (russian: Виссарио́н Я́ковлевич Шебали́н; 29 May 1963) was a Soviet composer. Biography Shebalin was born in Omsk, where his parents were school teachers. He studied in the musical colle ...

. He later returned to Yerevan, where from 1950 to 1956 he taught at the conservatory. In 1952, he wrote the Piano Trio in F-sharp minor. It received immediate acclaim and was regarded as a masterpiece from the time of its premiere. Subsequently, he undertook concert tours throughout the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

and Europe. In 1971, he was named a People's Artist of the USSR. Babajanian wrote in various musical genres, including many popular songs in collaboration with leading poets such as

Yevgeny Yevtushenko Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko ( rus, links=no, 1=Евге́ний Алекса́ндрович Евтуше́нко; 18 July 1933 – 1 April 2017) was a Soviet and Russian poet. He was also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, ...

and

Robert Rozhdestvensky Robert Ivanovich Rozhdestvensky (russian: Ро́берт Ива́нович Рожде́ственский; 20 June 1932 – 19 August 1994) was a Soviet-Russian poet and Songwriter who broke with socialist realism in the 1950s–1960s during ...

. Much of his music is rooted in Armenian folk music and folklore, which he generally uses in the virtuosic style of

Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and Khachaturian. His later works were influenced by

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

and Bartók. Praised by Dmitri Shostakovich as a "brilliant piano teacher", Babajanian was also a noted pianist and often performed his own works in concerts.

List of principal works

Piano works

for piano solo

* Prelude (1938) * Vagharshapat dance (1943) * Impromptu (1944) * Polyphonic sonata (1946, revised 1956) * Capriccio (1951) * Six pictures (1963–64) * Poem (1965) * Meditation (1969) * Melody and Humoresque (1970) * Elegy (1978)

for two pianos

''(co-composed by

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 ...

)'' * Dance (early 1940s) * Armenian Rhapsody (1950) * Festive (1960, includes percussive instruments)

Works for solo instrument and piano

* Violin sonata (1958) * Air and Dance for Cello (1961)

Chamber works

* String quartet No. 1 (1938) * String quartet No. 2 (1947?) * Piano trio (1952) * String quartet No. 3 (1976)

Orchestral works

* Poem-rhapsody (1954, revised 1980) * March of the Soviet Police (1977)

Concerto

* Piano concerto (1944) * Violin concerto (1948) * "Heroic ballade" for piano and orchestra (1950) * Cello concerto (1962)

Ballet pieces

* "Parvana" (Парвана) (1954–56; incomplete, probably lost) * "Pas-de-deux" (Па-де-де) * "Stellar symphony" (Звездная симфония) (early 1960s) * "Umbrellas" (Зонтики) * "Sensation" (Сенсация)

Pieces for stage orchestra

* Armenian Lipsi * Rhythmic dance * In Karlovy Vary * Come to Yerevan * Festive Yerevan * Nocturne (Concert piece for piano and orchestra) (1980) * Dreams (Concert piece for piano and orchestra) (1982)

Film scores

* Looking for the addressee (В поисках адресата) (1955) * Path of thunder (Тропою грома) (1956) * Personally known (Лично известен) (1957) * '' The Song of First Love'' (Песня первой любви) (1958) * ''

A Groom from the Other World ''A Groom from the Other World'' or (russian: Жених с того света, Zhenikh s togo sveta) is a 1958 Soviet comedy film directed by Leonid Gaidai. Plot Head of "BORE" (Bush Oversight of Resort Establishments), Semyon Danilovich Petukh ...

'' (Жених с того света) (1958) * Bride from the North (Невеста с севера) (1975) * My heart is in the Highlands (В горах мое сердце) (1975) * Baghdasar's divorce (Багдасар разводится с женой) (1976) * Chef contest (Приехали на конкурс повара) (1977) * The flight starts from the Earth (Полет начинается с земли) (1980) * The mechanics of happiness (Механика счастья) (1982)

Songs (over 200 in total; selection)

* "Nocturne" ("Ноктюрн") * "Bring me back the music" (""Верни мне музыку") * "Beauty queen" ("Королева красоты") * "Wedding" ("Свадьба") * "Best city in the world" ("Лучший город Земли"), originally performed by Jean Tatlian and made a classic by Muslim Magomayev * "Grateful to you" ("Благодарю тебя") * "Ferris wheel" ("Чертово колесо") * "Heart on snow" ("Сердце на снегу") * "The blue taiga" ("Голубая тайга") * "Dum spiro, spero" (Пока я помню, я живу)

Honors, prizes and medals

* 1935 - First two prizes for two songs dedicated to the 15th anniversary of Soviet Armenia * 1937 - First prize for the best performance of Alexander Glazunov's Piano Variations at Yerevan Conservatoire * 1939 - First prize for the best performance of works by Soviet composers * 1945 - Medal "for defence of the Caucasus" * 1945 - Medal "for valiant labour" * 1947 - Second prize for three piano pieces (or the Piano Concerto) at the 1st World Festival of Youth and Students in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

* 1951 -

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

, third degree, for the "Heroic Ballade" for piano and orchestra * 1953 - Second prize for the song "Fly Aloft the Friendship Banner" at the 2nd World Festival of Youth and Students in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

* 1956 -

Order of the Red Banner of Labour The Order of the Red Banner of Labour (russian: Орден Трудового Красного Знамени, translit=Orden Trudovogo Krasnogo Znameni) was an order of the Soviet Union established to honour great deeds and services to th ...

* 1956 - Meritorious Artist of the Armenian SSR * 1962 -

People's Artist People's Artist is an honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states (and communist states in general), as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the U ...

of the Armenian SSR * 1967 - Armenian SSR State prize for "6 pictures" for piano solo * 1971 - People's Artist of the USSR * 1973 - Best composer's award at the 2nd

Tokyo Music Festival The Tokyo Music Festival was an international music contest that ran from 1972 to 1992. It was organized by the Tokyo Music Festival Association. The first edition of the Tokyo Music Festival took place on 13 May 1972 with 12 participating countri ...

for the song "Ferris wheel" * 1973 - Honorable citizen of two cities in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

* 1981 -

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (russian: Орден Ленина, Orden Lenina, ), named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was established by the Central Executive Committee on April 6, 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration ...

* 1983 (posthumously) - Armenian SSR State prize for the OST for the film "Mechanics of happiness" A

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''mino ...

, 9017 Babadzhanyan, was named after him.

Legacy

Babajanian is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Soviet era. File:Arno Babajanian 2021 stamp of Armenia.jpg, Babajanian on an Armenian stamp File:Առնո Բաբաջանյանի անվ. համերգասրահ 3.jpg, Arno Babajanian Concert Hall,

Abovyan Street Abovyan Street ( hy, Աբովյան Փողոց), is a street at the central Kentron district of the Armenian capital Yerevan. It was known as Astafyan Street between 1868 and 1920. The street runs from the central Republic Square to the stat ...

, Yerevan File:Arno Babajanian, Yerevan, June 2016.jpg, Babajanian's statue in Yerevan Arno Babjanyan's plaque, Yerevan.JPG, Arno Babajanian's plaque on Mashtots Avenue, Yerevan

References

External links

*
Arno Babajanian Piano Trio in f# minor sound-bites and short bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Babajanian, Arno 1921 births 1983 deaths 20th-century classical composers Armenian classical pianists Ethnic Armenian composers Soviet classical pianists 20th-century classical pianists Soviet composers Soviet male composers Musicians from Yerevan People's Artists of Armenia People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Stalin Prize winners Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan alumni Armenian film score composers 20th-century male musicians