Aram Khachaturian

Infobox Musical artist
Name = Aram Khachaturian


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Background = non_performing_personnel
Birth_name = Aram Il'yich Khachaturian
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Born = birth date|1903|6|6 Tbilisi, Georgia, Imperial Russia
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Died = death date and age|1978|5|1|1903|6|6 Moscow, Soviet Union (buried in Yerevan, Armenia)
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Occupation = Composer
Conductor
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Aram Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան, "Aram Xačatryan"; Russian: Аpaм Ильич Xaчaтypян, "Aram Il'ič Hačaturjan") (June 6 1903–May 1 1978) was a Soviet-Armenian composer whose works were often influenced by Armenian folk music.

Life

Aram Khachaturian was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Imperial Russia to a poor Armenian family. In his youth, he was fascinated by the music he heard around him, but at first he did not study music or learn to read it. In 1921, he travelled to Moscow to join his brother, unable to speak a word of Russian. Although he had almost no musical education, Khachaturian showed such great talent that he was admitted to the Gnessin Institute where he studied cello under Mikhail Gnessin and entered a composition class (1925).

In 1929, he transferred to the Moscow Conservatory where he studied under Nikolai Myaskovsky. In the 1930s, he married the composer Nina Makarova, a fellow student from Myaskovsky’s class. In 1951, he became professor at the Gnessin State Musical and Pedagogical Institute (Moscow) and the Moscow Conservatory. He also held important posts at the Composers’ Union, which would later severely denounce some of his works as being “formalist” music, along with those of Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich. These three composers became the so called “titans” of Soviet music, enjoying worldwide reputation as some of the leading composers of the 20th century.

Music

Khachaturian’s works include concertos for violin (also transcribed for flute), cello, and piano (the latter originally including an early part for the flexatone), concerto-rhapsodies for the same instruments, three symphonies—the third containing parts for fifteen additional trumpets and organ, and the ballets "Spartak" (AKA "Spartacus") and "Gayane" (the adagio was used in Stanley Kubrick’s film ""). The latter ballet features in its final act what is probably his most famous movement, the “Sabre Dance.” He also wrote some piano music such as the song "Two Ladies Gossiping," a quick and lively song.

He also composed some film music and incidental music for plays such as the 1941 production of Mikhail Lermontov’s "Masquerade". The cinematic quality of his music for "Spartacus" was clearly seen when it was used as the theme for a popular BBC drama series, "The Onedin Line", during the 1970s. Since then, it has become one of the most popular of all classical pieces for UK audiences. Joel Coen’s "The Hudsucker Proxy" also prominently featured music from "Spartacus" and "Gayane" ("Sabre Dance" included) mixed with the original compositions by Carter Burwell. He was also the composer for the state anthem of the Armenian SSR, whose tune is one of the five current choices to become the next state anthem of Armenia. The climax of "Spartacus’" second movement was also used in "".

Khachaturian and Communism

Khachaturian was enthusiastic about communism. In 1920, when Armenia was declared a Soviet republic, Khachaturian joined a propaganda train touring Armenia, populated by Georgian-Armenian artists. The composer joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1943. His communist ideals, along with his Armenian nationalism, are apparent in his works, especially "Gayane" (which takes place on a collective farm) and the Second Symphony. It was the Symphonic Poem, later titled the Third Symphony, that earned Khachaturian the wrath of the Party. Ironically, Khachaturian wrote the work as a tribute to communism: “I wanted to write the kind of composition in which the public would feel my unwritten program without an announcement. I wanted this work to express the Soviet people’s joy and pride in their great and mighty country.” Perhaps because Khachaturian did not include a dedication or program notes, his intentions backfired. Andrei Zhdanov, secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee, delivered the so-called Zhdanov decree in 1948. The decree condemned Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Khachaturian, and other Soviet composers as “formalist” and “antipopular.” All three accused composers were forced to apologize publicly. The decree affected Khachaturian profoundly: “Those were tragic days for me... I was clouted on the head so unjustly. My repenting speech at the First Congress was insincere. I was crushed, destroyed. I seriously considered changing professions.”

He died in Moscow on May 1, 1978, just short of his 75th birthday. He was buried in Yerevan, Armenia, along with other distinguished Armenians who made Armenian art accessible for the whole world. In 1998, he was honored by appearing on Armenian paper money (50 dram).

Notable students

*Aziz El-Shawan
*Vyacheslav Grokhovsky
*Enrique Ubieta
*Anatol Vieru

Works

Ballets

*"Shchastye" (Happiness:1939, Erevam: 1939)
*"Gayane" (1939–41), which includes the famous Sabre Dance
*"Spartacus" (1950–54) Music from this ballet was used as the main theme for the British television production 'The Onedin Line'.

Orchestral

*Symphonies
**Symphony No. 1 (1934)
**Symphony No. 2 "The Bell Symphony" (two versions: 1943, 1944)
**Symphony No. 3 "Symphony-Poem" (1947)
*Dance Suite (1933)
*Suite from "Gayane" No. 1 (1943)
*Suite from "Gayane" No. 2 (1943)
*Suite from "Gayane" No. 3 (1943)
*State Anthem of the Armenian SSR (1944)
*"The Russian Fantasy" (1944)
*Suite from "Masquerade" (1944)
*"Ode in Memory of Vladimir Ilich Lenin" (1948)
*Suite from "Battle of Stalingrad" (1949)
*"Triumphal Poem", a festive poem (1950)
*Suite from "The Valencian Widow" (1952)
*Suite from "Spartacus" No. 1 (1955)
*Suite from "Spartacus" No. 2 (1955)
*Suite from "Spartacus" No. 3 (1955)
*Symphonic Pictures from "Spartacus" (1955)
*"Salutatory Overture" (1958)
*Suite from "Lermontov" (1959)

Vocal Orchestral

*"Poem about Stalin" (1938)
*Three Arias (Poem, Legend, Dithyramb), for high pitched voice and orchestra (1946)
*"Ode of Joy", ballade for female soloist, chorus, violins, harps, and orchestra (1956)
*"Ballade about Motherland", for soloist and symphony orchestra (1961)

Concertante

*Piano Concerto (1936)
*Violin Concerto (1940), also exists as a flute concerto version
*Cello Concerto (1946)
*Concerto-Rhapsody for violin and orchestra (1961)
*Concerto-Rhapsody for cello and orchestra (1963)
*Concerto-Rhapsody for piano and orchestra (1968)

Chamber

*String Quartet (1931)
*Trio for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1932)

Instrumental

* "Roaming Ashug's Song" for cello and piano (1925)
* "Elegy" for Cello and Piano (1925)
* "Piece" for Cello and Piano (1926)
* "Dance No. 1" for violin and piano (1926)
* "Dream" for cello and piano (1927)
* "Pantomime" for oboe and piano (1927)
* "Allegretto" for violin and piano (1929)
* "Song-Poem (in Honor of Ashugs)" for violin and piano (1929)
* "Mass Dance" for bayan (1932)
* Violin Sonata (1932)
* "Nocturne" from "Masquerade" for violin and piano (1941)
* Sonata for Solo Cello (1974)
* "Sonata-Song" for Solo Viola (1976)

Piano

*Poem (1925)
*Poem (1926)
*Waltz-Etude (1926)
*Andantino (1926)
*Variations on the Theme "Solveig" (1928)
*Seven Recitatives and Fugues (1928, 1966)
*Suite (Toccata, Waltz-Capriccio, Dance) (1932)
*Dance No. 3 (1933)
*March No. 3 (1934)
*"Budenovka", a mass dance (undated)
*Choreographic Waltz (1944)
*Three Pieces (Ostinato, Romance, Fantastic Waltz) (1945)
*Album for Children No. 1, 10 pieces (1947)
*Waltz from "Masquerade" (1952)
*Piano Sonatina (1959)
*Piano Sonata (1961)
*Album for Children No. 2 (1965)
*Toccata (1932)

Vocal

Incidental music

*"Uncle Baghdasar" (1927)
*"Khatabala" (1928)
*"Oriental Dentist" (1928)
*"Debt of Honor" (1931)
*"Macbeth" (1933)
*"Devastated Home" (1935)
*"Great Day" (1937)
*"Baku" (1937)
*"The Valencian Widow" (1940)
*"Masquerade" (1941)
*"Kremlin Chimes" (1942)
*"Sound Scout" (1943)
*"The Last Day" (1945)
*"Southern Bale" (1947)
*"Tale About The Truth" (1947)
*"Ilya Golovin" (1949)
*"Spring Current" (1953)
*"Guardian Angel from Nebraska" (1953)
*"Lermontov" (1954)
*"Macbeth" (1955)
*"King Lear" (1958)

Film scores

Brass Band

* Combat March No. 1
* Combat March No. 2 (1930)
* Dancing Music (on the theme of an Armenian song) (1932)
* March No. 3 ("Uzbek March") (1932)
* Dance (on the theme of an Armenian song) (1932)
* "To The Heroes of the Patriotic War", a march (1942)
* "March of the Moscow Red Banner Militia" (1973)

Further reading

* cite journal
quotes =
last = Robinson
first = Harlow
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date =
year = 2007
month = July
title = The Caucasian Connection: National Identity in the Ballets of Aram Khachaturian
journal = Nationalities Papers
volume = 35
issue = 3
pages = 429–438
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References

* Ehrenburg, I., Khachaturian, A., and Pomerantsev, V. (1953). “Three Soviet artists on the present needs of Soviet art.” "Soviet Studies", 5(4), 427–434.

* Yuzefovich, V. (1985). "Aram Khachaturyan" (N. Kournokoff & V. Bobrov, Trans.). New York: Sphinx Press. ISBN 0823686582.

External links

* [http://www.khachaturian.am Virtual Museum of Aram Khachaturian - official site of the great Armenian composer]
* [http://www.npr.org/display_pages/features/feature_1287262.html NPR report including many audio examples of his Sabre Dance]
* [http://www.armeniadiaspora.com/events/aram100/index.html Aram Khachaturian 100th anniversary Web site]
* [http://home.wanadoo.nl/ovar/kachcata.htm Music composed by Khachaturian]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=8888008 Aram Khachaturian's Gravesite]
* [http://www.akhic.am Aram Khachaturian International Competition]