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Aram Ilyich Khachaturian BiographyArmenian Composer, Advocate of Russian Music
Life and major works of Armenian composer Aram Khachaturian, famous for Gayaneh, Sabre Dance and Spartacus.
Aram Il'yich Khachaturian, (1903-1978), Armenian composer, is best known for his ballet Spartacus which includes the “Adagio,” acclaimed by Moscow critics as his masterpiece. Others think ballet Gayaneh, which includes ‘Sabre Dance,’ is his most famous work. Khachaturian first attracted Prokofiev's attention with his Trio for piano, clarinet and violin. He achieved wider success with his Symphony No.1, Piano Concerto, and Violin Concerto No.2. Early LifeKhachaturian was born on June 6, 1903, in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, to parents of Armenian origins. Both regions of Georgia and Armenia later became part of the Soviet Union. The son of an Armenian bookbinder, he had no particular interest in music. When he was 17, he moved to Moscow with his family. Planning for a career in biology, he received his education in music comparatively late. He was 19 when he approached a pupil of Rimsky-Korsakov because he wanted to compose but he knew nothing about music. Later, he studied the cello, and then composition under Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory. Russian Composer and ConductorFrom 1937 he was active in the Union of Soviet Composers. However, in later years his music incurred official displeasure, making him abandon serious composition in favour of film scores. The Soviet State censured him for writing music they thought too highbrow for the masses. His use of folk themes is shown in the ballets Gayaneh which includes the popular "Sabre Dance", and Spartacus, used as theme music for the TV series "The Onedin Line." His later works include "concert rhapsodies". In 1968, he was 65, and toured the USA conducting his own music. Awards and HonorsIn recognition of his works he obtained the following awards: Order of Lenin for services to Soviet music (1939), Stalin Prize for his Violin Concerto (1940) and ballet Gayaneh (1942), and honorary title of People’s Artist of the USSR. With his Armenian heritage clear in his melodies and orchestrations, his musical career represents the Soviet model of the linking of regional folklorism with the central Russian tradition. Khachaturian's Works
Sources:Dictionary of the Arts, Gramercy Books (1999) The Encyclopedia of Music by Max Wade-Matthews & Wendy Thompson, Hermes House (2002) The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music, Macmillan (1994)
The copyright of the article Aram Ilyich Khachaturian Biography in Classical Composers is owned by Tel Asiado. Permission to republish Aram Ilyich Khachaturian Biography in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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