Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilich Khachaturian (
Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան,
Aram Xačatryan;
Russian: Аpaм Ильич Xaчaтypян,
Aram Il'ič Hačaturjan) (
June 6,
1903 –
May 1,
1978) was a
composer of
modern music.
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was born in
Tbilisi,
Georgia (then a part of
Imperial Russia) to a poor
Armenian family (the influence of Armenian
folk music is prominent in his work). 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 traveled 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 "formalistic" music, along with those of
Prokofiev and
Shostakovich. However these three composers became the so called "titans" of Soviet music, enjoying world-wide reputation as the leading composers of the 20th century.
Khachaturian's works include concertos for
violin,
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
trumpets and
organ, and the
ballets Spartak (aka
Spartacus) and
Gayane (music of which was used in
Stanley Kubrick's film
2001: A Space Odyssey). The latter ballet features in its final act what is probably his most famous movement, the "
Sabre Dance". He also composed some
film music and incidental music for plays such as the 1941 production of 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 Cohen's
The Hudsucker Proxy also prominently featured music from
Spartacus and
Gayane ("Sabre Dance," included) mixed with original compositions from Carter Burwell. Burwell's achingly beautiful original music and his arrangements perfectly match the mix of silly and sharply satirical elements of the film.
Khachaturian was enthusiastic about communism. In 1920, when Armenia was declared a Soviet republic, Khachaturian joined a propaganda train touring Armenia comprised of Georgian-Armenian artists. The composer joined the Communist Party 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" (Yuzefovich, 191). 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" (Yuzefovich, 190).
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).
Symphonies
*Symphony No. 1
*Symphony No. 2
*Symphony No. 3
Works for solo instrument(s) and orchestra
*Piano Concerto
*Violin Concerto
*Cello Concerto
*Concerto-Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra
*Concerto-Rhapsody for Violin and Orchestra
*Concerto-Rhapsody for Cello and Orchestra
*Masquerade Suite
*Lermontov Suite
Ballets
*
Spartacus*
Gayane, which includes the famous
Sabre DanceChamber works
*Trio in G minor for Clarinet, Violin and Piano (1932)
Works for solo piano
*Adventures of Ivan (teaching pieces)
*Toccata
*Etudie
*Piano Sonata (1976)
*
Virtual Museum of Aram Khachaturian - official site of the great Armenian composer*
NPR report including many audio examples of his Sabre Dance*
Aram Khachaturian 100th anniversary Web site*
Music composed by Khachaturian*
Aram Khachaturian's GravesiteEhrenburg, I, Khachaturian, A., & 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.
