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 and film scores,

People's Artist of the Armenian SSR People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (Народный артист Армянской ССР), is an honorary title awarded to citizens of the Armenian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is awarded for outstanding performance in the performing arts, wh ...

(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 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 Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

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 ' ...

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 oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and i ...

in 1956, where he continued his education. He studied first at the

Romanos Melikian Romanos Melikian ( hy, Ռոմանոս Հովակիմի Մելիքյան; October 1, 1883, Kizlyar – March 30, 1935, Yerevan) was an Armenian composer. He finished the Rostov Musical College, then the classes of Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov and B. Y ...

Music School under the Armenian composer Edvard Baghdasaryan and later at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. 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 pr ...

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 Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...

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

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She is recognized as one of the world's top violists. She has spent her career in the US and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy ...

, 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 The Hilliard Ensemble was a British male vocal quartet originally devoted to the performance of early music. The group was named after the Elizabethan miniaturist painter Nicholas Hilliard. Founded in 1974, the group disbanded in 2014. Although ...

; Christoph Poppen, 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 ...

. (CD ECM 1850/51) *Tigran Mansurian: ''Havik, Duet for viola and percussion'' –

, 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 songs. 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 List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

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 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 ...

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 millio ...

, New York,

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, and other cities.

Stage

*''The Snow Queen'' (ballet in two acts with a scenario by Vilen Galstyan, after the story by Hans Christian Andersen), 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), 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, 1972 *''Silhouette of a Bird'', for harpsichord 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. Ex ...

, 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 Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; uk, А́нна Андрі́ївна Горе́нко, Ánna Andríyivn ...

'', 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 ...

viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, 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 and viola, 1999; *''Lamento'', for violin, 2002 (also has version for viola) *''Three Medieval Taghs'', 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 Hovhannes Tumanyan ( hy, Հովհաննես Թումանյան, classical spelling: Յովհաննէս Թումանեան, – March 23, 1923) was an Armenian poet, writer, translator, and literary and public activist. He is the nationa ...

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

Avetik Isahakyan Avetik Sahak Isahakyan ( hy, Ավետիք Սահակ Իսահակյան; October 30, 1875 – October 17, 1957) was a prominent Armenian lyric poet, writer and public activist. Biography Isahakyan was born in Alexandropol in 1875. He was edu ...

)

Vocal

*''Three Romances'', for mezzo-soprano and piano, 1966 (text by

Federico García Lorca Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca (5 June 1898 – 19 August 1936), known as Federico García Lorca ( ), was a Spanish poet, playwright, and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblemat ...

, translated into Armenian by Hamo Sahyan) *''Four Hayrens '' for mezzo-soprano (or viola) and piano, 1967 (text by Nahapet Kuchak) *''Intermezzo'', for soprano 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 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 rare ...

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 ...

in Armenian translation) *''Madrigal IV'', for soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and

tubular bells Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

, 1991 (text by Alicia Kirakosyan) *''Requiem'', for soprano, baritone, mixed chorus and string orchestra, 2011

Film scores

*''

The Color of Pomegranates ''The Color of Pomegranates'' is a 1969 Soviet Armenian art film written and directed by Sergei Parajanov. The film is a poetic treatment of the life of 18th-century Armenian poet and troubadour Sayat-Nova. It has appeared in many polls as one of ...

'', 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 Mikhail Vartanov (russian: Михаил Вартанов, links=no, hy, Միքայել Վարդանով, links=no, french: Mikhaïl Vartanov, links=no; b. February 21, 1937, RSFSR, Soviet Union, now Russian Federation, d. December 31, 2009, Holl ...

) *''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 ...

'', 1969 (directed by

Henrik Malyan Henrik Sureni Malyan ( hy, Հենրիկ Մալյան, also transliterated Henrik Malian; September 30, 1925 – March 14, 1988) was an Armenian film director and writer. He was born in Telavi, Georgia. Malyan's uncle was famous actor David ...

) *''

Seasons of the Year ''Seasons of the Year'' ( hy, Տարվա եղանակները, Tarva yeghanaknery; ), also called ''The Seasons'' or ''Four Seasons'', is a 1975 Soviet– Armenian short documentary film, directed and written by Artavazd Peleshyan. It was his se ...

'', 1975 (directed by Artavazd Peleshyan) *''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 ''The Tango of Our Childhood'' ( hy, Մեր մանկության տանգոն, russian: Танго нашего детства) is a 1984 Soviet- Armenian tragicomedy film written and directed by Albert Mkrtchyan and starring Frunzik Mkrtchyan (h ...

'', 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