Khachaturyan Aram Ilyich. Biography

Composer Aram Ilyich Khachaturian is recognized throughout the world as one of brilliant musicians XX century. Armenian by nationality, born in, during his life he created many musical works, including suites, rhapsodies, symphonies, wrote music for films and theatrical productions, and is also the author of the music for the State Anthem of the Armenian SSR.

People's Artist of the USSR, awarded many awards, prizes and medals. In 2006, a monument to the great composer was unveiled in Moscow (in Bryusov Lane in the Presnensky district).

Biography of Aram Khachaturian

In the summer of 1903, on the outskirts of Kojory in pre-revolutionary Tbilisi, which was then called Tiflis - in cultural capital everything pre-revolutionary, a fourth son was born into the family of an ordinary bookbinder, who was given the name Aram. The family of the future musician was quite large; five children were raised in it.

Father, Ilya (Egiya) Khachaturian was 10 years older than his wife Kumash, they were engaged when she was only 9 years old. Moreover, both were from the same county. Egia, being an ordinary peasant, managed to leave for Tiflis, entered a bookbinding workshop and quickly achieved success. By the time Aram was born, his father was already the full owner of this workshop.

As for Kumash Sarkisovna, she was a very creative person and, perhaps, it was her influence on her youngest son that became decisive for him. According to the composer’s own recollections, his mother often sang Armenian songs, and he then tapped these tunes on copper kitchen utensils. In addition to their sons, the Khachaturians also had a daughter (the eldest among the children), but she did not even live to be two years old and died of illness.

Aram was a very active child and even somewhat cocky. The family's funds made it possible to give the youngest son a decent education. He was sent to a private boarding school, where singing lessons were taught well. This in Khachaturian’s biography became the next step towards the world of music. He begged his father to buy him a piano and, not knowing the notes, began to gradually select the music on his own. In addition, he played the tuba and trumpet.

Older brother Suren graduated from Moscow University and served in the Moscow Art Theater. In 1921, he invited his two younger brothers to Moscow. Aram, having made a long journey of 24 days from Moscow, arrived and lived with Suren, attended concerts, listened to Mayakovsky's speeches... There he entered preparatory courses, and later became a student in the biological department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics.

After studying there for only a year, he finally realized that he was in love with music and decided to devote his life to it, entering the Gnessin School, which he graduated brilliantly in 1929. In parallel with his studies, he was an employee of the House of Culture of Armenia in Moscow. The photo shows Aram Khachaturian in his student years.

Also in 1929, he began studying at the Moscow Conservatory. At that time, he could already consider himself a composer, since he composed music. From the mid-30s, his activities began to flourish. During the Great Patriotic War, he collaborated with the All-Union Radio, the marches and songs of Aram Khachaturian were widely known throughout the country.

The composer married his fellow student Nina Vladimirovna Makarova in 1933, and in a happy marriage they had a son, Karen. Aram was the real head of his small family, his energy was enough for everything: both for current concerns and for solving major family issues, but he could not imagine independent existence without his wife, they were inseparable.

However, the composer was dealt a powerful blow by the state when in 1948 the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks issued a Decree on the opera “The Great Friendship” by V. Muradeli, in which, on the one hand, he was put on a par with Shostakovich and Prokofiev. On the other hand, Khachaturian’s works were called a formalistic manifestation in art.

Therefore, although he still composed music, he became mostly known as a conductor. Since 1950 he worked as a teacher in his beloved Gnesinka. Fame returned to the composer in the late 50s, when he was elected secretary of the Union of Composers of the USSR.

In the 60-70s she returned to Khachaturian former glory. Unfortunately, in the last years of his life, Aram Ilyich was already a sick man. His health was undermined by the death of his beloved wife Nina. He survived his wife by only two years and died in 1978. The composer's body was buried in Yerevan.

The work of the great composer

Aram Ilyich was an extremely talented musician. He created his first work while a student at Gnesinka. When composing music, the composer followed the concept of the Russian school; he was strongly influenced by the works of Prokofiev and Shostakovich. He wrote instrumental symphonies and concerts. The famous waltzes of Aram Khachaturian (etude and caprice) appeared back in 1926. He has three immortal ballets to his credit:

• "Gayane";
• "Spartacus";
• "Happiness".

Of all Aram's ballets, the most famous are Spartacus and Gayane. Thus, “Spartacus,” created in 1956, went through three editions and became the work that is present in the repertoire of every ballet troupe. It was staged not only in the USSR, but also abroad.

Another creation of the master, “Gayane,” was written in 1942, and 15 years later a new edition followed. This score was created in the most difficult conditions for the country, when there was a war and people did not have enough food. The composer wrote it while living in Perm, where he was evacuated. In primitive conditions, working in a cold room, he created a ballet about the life of Soviet collective farmers. And the essay brought him worldwide fame. It is no coincidence that Aram Khachaturian’s “Sabre Dance” (one of the ballet episodes) became so famous that, in fact, it even turned out to be a household name.

Besides major works, works for piano, instrumental sonatas and concertos, he also created other music. In particular, he wrote musical accompaniment to various theatrical productions. Thus, he became the author of music for the play “Lermontov” and a suite for the play “Masquerade”. Both productions were dedicated to the works of Mikhail Yuryevich.

But the music was so individual that after the death of Aram Ilyich, in 1982, one of his students (Edgar Oganesyan) slightly reworked both works of his teacher and, based on them, composed the score for a completely new ballet called “Masquerade”. It also included other compositions by the great musician. Thus, although Aram Khachaturian himself never wrote the ballet “Masquerade,” he is still sometimes called its creator.

Among creative heritage the composer - music for many other productions, most of which occurred in the forties, as well as the result of work in cinematography. He became the author of music for several dozen films, including the epic " Battle of Stalingrad».

Millions of people still listen in fascination to the sounds of his works. He was very diverse in his creations. For example, his “Sabre Dance” captivates with its oriental expression and is memorable for anyone. But “Evening Tale” sounds differently - thoughtful and somewhat absent-minded, but that makes it no less good.

Memory of the Patriarch of Music

It is impossible to list all the merits of the master. This is a composer too significant for the world for his name to be forgotten and pushed aside by dozens of other, less talented writers. Therefore, in 2013 there was music Festival named after Khachaturyan. It was organized by the Ministry of Culture and the Armenian State Youth Orchestra.

This festival became a real event, in which musical groups were drawn not only from Armenia itself, but also from many other countries. The works of Aram Khachaturian could be heard and re-experienced in Russia, Georgia, and Italy. The festival was memorable for the fact that many famous groups came to his homeland, including Vladimir Spivakov’s orchestra. This project once again reminded music lovers of the work of the great composer.

In addition, the International Competition named after A. Khachaturian is held annually in Yerevan. It was first held in 2003 and was timed to coincide with the 100th birthday. Today, within the framework of this competition, young talents who have made playing the violin, piano and cello their musical choice can perform. Musicians from Russia, Canada, Spain, Germany, the USA and many other countries come to the events.

Armenian State Youth Orchestra became official musical group this project. The competition is part of the World Federation of International Music Competitions. It is unlikely that without the name of Aram Khachaturian he acquired such weight. This means that the very memory of the composer and his work are priceless.

...Aram Khachaturian’s contribution to the music of our days is great. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of his art for Soviet and world musical culture. His name has won the widest recognition both in our country and abroad; he has dozens of students and followers who develop the principles to which he himself always remains faithful.
D. Shostakovich

A. Khachaturian’s creativity impresses with its richness of figurative content and breadth of use various forms and genres. High notes were embodied in his music humanistic ideas revolution, Soviet patriotism and internationalism, themes and plots depicting heroic and tragic events of distant history and modernity; colorful images and siennas are vividly captured folk life, the richest world of thoughts, feelings and experiences of our contemporary. With his art, Khachaturian inspiredly sang the life of his native and close Armenia.

Khachaturian’s creative biography is not entirely ordinary. Despite his bright musical talent, he never received an initial specialized musical education and became involved in music professionally only at the age of nineteen. The years spent in old Tiflis and the musical impressions of his childhood left an indelible mark on the minds of the future composer and determined the foundations of his musical thinking.

The composer’s work was strongly influenced by the rich atmosphere of the musical life of this city, in which Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani folk tunes, improvisation of singer-storytellers - ashugs and sazandars, and the intersection of traditions of Eastern and Western music were heard at every step.

In 1921, Khachaturian moved to Moscow and settled with his older brother Suren, a prominent theatrical figure, organizer and head of the Armenian drama studio. Bubbling in full swing artistic life Moscow amazes the young man.

He visits theaters, museums, literary evenings, concerts, opera and ballet performances, greedily absorbs more and more new artistic impressions, gets acquainted with the works of the world musical classics. Works of M. Glinka, P. Tchaikovsky, M. Balakirev, A. Borodin, N. Rimsky-Korsakov, M. Ravel, C. Debussy, I. Stravinsky, S. Prokofiev, as well as A. Spendiarov, R. Melikyan, etc. . to one degree or another influenced the formation of Khachaturian’s deeply original style.

On the advice of his brother, in the fall of 1922, Khachaturian entered the biological department of Moscow University, and a little later - the music college named after. Gnessins in cello class. After 3 years, he leaves his studies at the university and devotes himself entirely to music.

At the same time, he stopped studying the cello and was transferred to the composition class of the famous Soviet teacher and composer M. Gnessin. Trying to make up for lost time in his childhood, Khachaturian works intensively and expands his knowledge. In 1929, Khachaturian entered the Moscow Conservatory. In the 1st year, he continued his classes in composition with Gnesin, and from the 2nd year, N. Myaskovsky became his leader, who played an extremely important role in the formation creative personality Khachaturyan. In 1934, Khachaturian graduated from the conservatory with honors and continued to improve in graduate school. Written as thesis The first symphony ends the student period creative biography composer. Intensive creative growth yielded excellent results - almost all the compositions of the student period became repertoire. These are, first of all, the First Symphony, the piano Toccata, the Trio for clarinet, violin and piano, the Song-poem (in honor of the ashugs) for violin and piano, etc.

An even more perfect creation of Khachaturian was the Piano Concerto (1936), created during his graduate studies and which brought the composer world fame. Work in the field of song, theater and film music does not stop. In the year the concert was created, the film “Pepo” with music by Khachaturian was shown on screens in cities across the country. Pepo's song becomes a favorite folk melody in Armenia.

During his years of study at the music college and conservatory, Khachaturian constantly visited the House of Culture of Soviet Armenia, this played an important role in his biography. Here he became close to composer A. Spendiarov, artist M. Saryan, conductor K. Saradzhev, singer Sh. Talyan, actor and director R. Simonov. During these same years, Khachaturian communicated with prominent theater figures (A. Nezhdanova, L. Sobinov, V. Meyerhold, V. Kachalov), pianists (K. Igumnov, E. Bekman-Shcherbina), composers (S. Prokofiev, N. Myaskovsky ). Communication with the luminaries of the Soviet musical art significantly enriched spiritual world young composer. Late 30s - early 40s. were marked by the creation of a number of remarkable works by the composer, included in the golden fund Soviet music. Among them are Symphonic Poem (1938), Violin Concerto (1940), music for Lope de Vega’s comedy “The Valencian Widow” (1940) and for M. Lermontov’s drama “Masquerade”. The premiere of the latter took place on the eve of the start of the Great Patriotic War on June 21, 1941 at the Theater. E. Vakhtangov.

From the very first days of the war, the volume of Khachaturian’s social and creative activities increased significantly. As Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Union of Composers of the USSR, he noticeably intensifies the work of this creative organization to solve important wartime problems, performs demonstrations of his works in units and hospitals, takes part in special broadcasts of the Radio Committee for the front. Social activities did not prevent the composer from creating works of various forms and genres during these intense years, many of which reflected military themes.

During the 4 years of the war, he created the ballet “Gayane” (1942), the Second Symphony (1943), music for three dramatic performances (“Kremlin Chimes” - 1942, “Deep Intelligence” - 1943, “The Last Day” - 1945), for the film “Man No. 217” and based on its material the Suite for two pianos (1945), suites were compiled from the music for “Masquerade” and the ballet “Gayane” (1943), 9 songs were written, a march for brass band“To the Heroes of the Patriotic War” (1942), Anthem of the Armenian SSR (1944). In addition, work began on a cello concerto and three concert arias (1944), completed in 1946. During the war, the idea of ​​a “heroic choreodrama” - the ballet “Spartacus” began to mature.

Khachaturian also addressed the topic of war in post-war years: music for the films “The Battle of Stalingrad” (1949), “The Russian Question” (1947), “They Have a Motherland” (1949), “Secret Mission” (1950), for the play “The South Knot” (1947). Finally, on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War (1975), one of the latest works composer - “Solemn Fanfares” for trumpets and drums. The most significant works of the war period are the ballet “Gayane” and the Second Symphony. The premiere of the ballet took place on December 3, 1942 in Perm by the forces of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater, which was being evacuated. S. M. Kirov. According to the composer, “the idea of ​​the Second Symphony is inspired by the events of the Patriotic War. I wanted to convey feelings of anger, revenge for all the evil that German fascism caused us. On the other hand, the symphony expresses the mood of sorrow and feelings of deepest faith in our final victory.” Khachaturian dedicated the Third Symphony to the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War, dedicated to the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Great October Revolution socialist revolution. In accordance with the plan - a hymn to the victorious people - the symphony includes an additional 15 pipes and an organ.

In the post-war years, Khachaturian continued to compose in various genres. The most significant work was the ballet “Spartacus” (1954). “I created the music using the same method as the composers of the past created it when they turned to historical topics: maintaining their own handwriting, their own style of writing, they talked about events through the prism of their artistic perception. The ballet “Spartacus” seems to me to be a work with acute musical dramaturgy, with wide-ranging artistic images and specific, romantically excited intonation speech. I considered it necessary to use all the achievements of modern musical culture to reveal the high theme of “Spartacus”. That's why the ballet was written modern language, With modern understanding problems of musical and theatrical form,” wrote Khachaturian about his work on the ballet.

Among other works created in the post-war years are “Ode to the Memory of V.I. Lenin” (1948), “Ode to Joy” (1956), written for the second decade of Armenian art in Moscow, “Welcome Overture” (1959) for the opening of the 21st century Congress of the CPSU. The composer continues to show keen interest in film and theater music and creates songs. In the 50s Khachaturian writes music for B. Lavrenev’s play “Lermontov”, for W. Shakespeare’s tragedies “Macbeth” and “King Lear”, music for the films “Admiral Ushakov”, “Ships Storm Bastions”, “Saltanat”, “Othello”, “Bonfire” immortality", "Duel". The songs “Armenian Table Song” gained popularity. Song about Yerevan”, “March of Peace”, “What Children Dream About”.

The post-war years were marked not only by the creation of new vibrant works in a variety of genres, but also important events in the creative biography of Khachaturian. In 1950, he was invited as a professor of composition class at the same time at the Moscow Conservatory and at the Musical Pedagogical Institute. Gnesins. For 27 years of his pedagogical activity Khachaturian graduated dozens of students, including A. Eshpai, E. Oganesyan, R. Boyko, M. Tariverdiev, B. Trotsyuk, A. Vieru, N. Terahara, A. Rybyaikov, K. Volkov, M. Minkov, D. Mikhailov and etc.

The beginning of teaching work coincided with the first experiences of conducting own writings. Every year the number of author's concerts is growing. Trips to cities of the Soviet Union are interspersed with tours to dozens of countries in Europe, Asia, and America. Here he meets with the largest representatives art world: composers I. Stravinsky, J. Sibelius, J. Enescu, B. Britten, S. Barber, P. Vladigerov, O. Messiaen, Z. Kodaly, conductors L. Stokovec, G. Karajan, J. Georgescu, performers A. Rubinstein, E. Zimbalist, writers E. Hemingway, P. Neruda, film artists C. Chaplin, S. Lauren and others.

The late period of Khachaturian’s work was marked by the creation of “The Ballad of the Motherland” (1961) for bass and orchestra, two instrumental triads: concertos-rhapsodies for cello (1961), violin (1963), piano (1968) and solo sonatas for cello (1974), violin (1975) and viola (1976); Sonata (1961), dedicated to his teacher N. Myaskovsky, as well as volume 2 of the “Children's Album” (1965, volume 1 - 1947) were written for piano.

Evidence of the world recognition of Khachaturian’s work is the awarding of orders and medals named after the largest foreign composers, as well as election as an honorary or full member of various music academies around the world.

The significance of Khachaturian’s art lies in the fact that he managed to identify the richest possibilities for the symphonization of eastern monodic thematics, to introduce, together with the composers of the fraternal republics, the monodic culture of the Soviet East to polyphony, to genres and forms previously established in European music, to show ways of enriching the national musical language . At the same time, the method of improvisation, the timbre-harmonic brilliance of oriental musical art through Khachaturian’s work influenced noticeable influence on composers - representatives of European musical culture. Khachaturian's creativity was a concrete manifestation of the fruitfulness of the interaction between the traditions of the musical cultures of the East and West.

In 1921, an 18-year-old Khachaturian together with a group of Armenian youth he came to Moscow, where his older brother, Suren, had long lived and worked Khachaturian, theater director. He entered preparatory courses at Moscow University and became a student in the biological department of the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics; however, a year later he left the university and entered the Gnessin Music School, where he studied cello and piano and took composition lessons. Mikhail Gnessin paid attention to the gifted student and helped him. He graduated from college in 1929.

During these same years Khachaturian For the first time in my life I was at a symphony concert and was shocked by the music of Beethoven and Rachmaninov. “Dance for Violin and Piano” was the composer’s first work.

“Like all violinists, I am proud that A. Khachaturian’s first serious work, his “Dance,” was written for violin. The composer feels the violin like a real master - a virtuoso,” said David Oistrakh about Khachaturians.

In 1926-1928 he worked at the Moscow House of Culture of Armenia, where he was in charge musical part 2nd Armenian Drama Studio under the direction of R. N. Simonov.

In 1929 Khachaturian entered the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied composition first with M. F. Gnesin, then with N. Ya. Myaskovsky; his mentors in instrumentation were R. M. Glier and S. N. Vasilenko. In 1934, he graduated with honors from the Conservatory and for the next two years studied there in graduate school under N. Ya. Myaskovsky. More to student years His works include such works as Song-poem for violin and piano (1929), Suite for viola and piano (1929), the famous virtuoso Toccata for piano (1932), trio for piano, violin and clarinet (1932). Further Khachaturian He created, focusing on the traditions of the Russian school, the First Symphony (1934), concertos with orchestra for piano (1936, violin (1940), cello (1946). And then - in the 1960s - he wrote a new triptych for the same solo instruments - concertos -rhapsodies (for violin - 1961, for cello - 1963, for piano - 1968). His most performed symphony is the Second (1944) - “Symphony with a Bell” (1947) was called “Symphony-poems”. essays A. Khachaturyan notable are Sonatina (1959), Sonata (1961, two editions were published, as well as Three Pieces (suite) for two pianos (1945). In the last years of his life, the composer wrote three solo sonatas for string instruments: violin, viola and cello. In 1944, he became the author of the music for the Anthem of the Armenian SSR. At the Moscow Conservatory the name Aram Khachaturyan included on the marble plaque of the best graduates of the music university.

During the Great Patriotic War Aram Khachaturyan worked at the All-Union Radio, wrote patriotic songs and marches.

In 1939 he composed the first armenian ballet"Happiness". But shortcomings in the ballet's libretto forced much of the music to be rewritten. As a result, the entire score of “Happiness”, in the figurative expression of the author himself, was “dispossessed” by him... It all ended with the creation of the ballet “Gayane”, but this was already during the Great Patriotic War. This is how the composer recalls this period: “I lived in Perm on the 5th floor of the Central Hotel. When I remember this time, I think again and again how difficult it was for people then. The front needed weapons, bread, shag... And everyone needed art - spiritual food - both the front and the rear. And we, artists and musicians, understood this and gave our all. I wrote about 700 pages of the Gayane score in six months in a cold hotel room where there was a piano, a stool, a table and a bed. This is especially dear to me because “Gayane” is the only ballet on a Soviet theme that has not left the stage for a quarter of a century...”

The ballet premiered in winter - December 3, 1942 at the Kirov Theater in Leningrad. The following year he was awarded the Stalin Prize, first class, one of the highest cultural honors of that time. “Sabre Dance” from “Gayane” brought the composer worldwide fame.

The greatest shock for the composer was the Decree of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the opera “Great Friendship” by V. Muradeli dated February 10, 1948, in which the work A. Khachaturyan, along with the work of S. Prokofiev and D. Shostakovich, was classified as formalistic manifestations in art. The composer essentially fell silent for many years.

The ballet "Spartak" became greatest work Khachaturian after the war. The ballet score was completed in 1954, and the premiere took place in December 1956. Since that time, “Spartak” has firmly entered the repertoire ballet troupes and was shown on the best stages in the world. It was staged by L. Yakobson, I. Moiseev, Y. Grigorovich, E. Chang and other prominent choreographers.

Simultaneously Khachaturian worked in theater and cinema; he wrote music for more than 20 films, including “Zangezur”, “Pepo”, “Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”, “Russian Question”, “Secret Mission”, “They Have a Homeland”, “Admiral Ushakov”, “Giordano” Bruno", "Othello", "Battle of Stalingrad". In the 30-50s, Khachaturian wrote music for the performances “Macbeth” at the Maly Theater (1955) and “King Lear” at the Theater. Mossovet (1958); His music for the performance of the Theater is widely known. Vakhtangov’s “Masquerade”, created in 1941.

Since 1950 Aram Khachaturyan He often performed as a conductor and toured with great success with his own concerts in many cities of the USSR and abroad. Since 1950, he taught composition at the Moscow Conservatory and at the Institute. Gnessins (since 1951 - professor). Among his students were, in particular, Andrey Eshpai, Rostislav Boyko, Alexey Rybnikov, Mikael Tariverdiev, Mark Minkov, Vladimir Dashkevich, Kirill Volkov, Valery Sokolov, Edgar Oganesyan, Nobua Terahara, Georg Peletsis, Anatole Vieru, Rene Eespere, Tolib- Hon Shahidi. Musicologists rightly classify the most prominent composers of Armenia Arno Babajanyan, Alexander Harutyunyan, Edward Mirzoyan as the “Khachaturian school”. Formally, they did not study with Khachaturian, but he closely followed their creative steps, helped and supported with advice.

Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee (1939-1948), since 1957 - Secretary of the Union of Composers of the USSR. President of the Soviet Association of Friendship and Cultural Cooperation with Countries Latin America(since 1958). Member of the Soviet Peace Committee (since 1962), academician of the Academy of Sciences of Armenia. SSR.

Among the interpreters of his music are the greatest figures in the performing arts of the twentieth century: D. Oistrakh, M. Rostropovich, Y. Slobodkin, L. Oborin, Y. Flier, V. Clyburn, N. Shakhovskaya, N. Petrov, M. Limpani...

He was buried in the Pantheon of the Komitas Park in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.

Awards and prizes

• Hero Socialist Labor (1973)
• three Orders of Lenin (1939, 1963, 1973)
• Order October revolution (1971)
• two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1945, 1966)
• Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
• Medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"
• Medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus"
• Medal "For the Defense of Moscow"
• Medal “For Valiant Labor. In commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin" (1970)
• People's Artist of the USSR (1954)
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (1947)
• People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1955)
• People's Artist of the Georgian SSR (1963)
• People's Artist of the Azerbaijan SSR (1973)
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1944)
• Honored Artist of the Armenian SSR (1938)
• Honored Artist of the Uzbek SSR (1967)
• Lenin Prize (1959) - for the ballet “Spartacus”
• State Prize USSR (1971) - for the music of the Triad of Concertos-Rhapsodies for violin and orchestra; for cello and orchestra; for piano and orchestra
• Stalin Prize second degree (1941) - for Violin Concerto
• Stalin Prize, first degree (1943) - for the ballet “Gayane”
• Stalin Prize, first degree (1946) - for the Second Symphony
• Stalin Prize, first degree (1950) - for the music for the two-part film “The Battle of Stalingrad”
• State Prize of the Armenian SSR (1965)
• Order of Arts and Letters Commander (1974)
• Order of Science and Art, 1st class (1961, United Arab Republic) - for outstanding musical activity
• Commemorative medal in connection with the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of the Shah of Iran (1965)
• Honored Artist of the Polish People's Republic - for services to Polish culture
• Academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Armenian SSR (1963)
• Doctor of Art History (1965)
• Honorary member of the Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome (1960)
• Corresponding member of the Academy of Arts of the GDR (1961)
• Professor Emeritus of the Mexican Conservatory (1960).

Memory

• The name of the composer is given to: a street in the north of Moscow, a street in Simferopol and a street in Astana.
• On October 31, 2006, a monument to Aram Khachaturian was unveiled in Moscow. Sculptor Georgy Frangulyan and architect Igor Voskresensky captured the maestro in minutes creative inspiration surrounded musical instruments. The opening ceremony was attended by Armenian President Robert Kocharyan, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov and his wife Russian President Lyudmila Putina. The monument was erected in the center of Yerevan in front of the Bolshoi concert hall, named after the great composer.
• In the center of the capital of the Republic of Armenia, Yerevan, on Zarobyan Street (next to Marshal Baghramyan Avenue), the A. I. Khachaturian House Museum (with a concert hall) was opened. For the last 10 years, its director has been pianist-professor Armine Romanovna Grigoryan.
• Khachaturian's music has been used in many films. Among them are “2001: A Space Odyssey” by S. Kubrick, “Caligula” by T. Brass, “The Hudsucker’s Henchman” by the Coen brothers, “Repentance” by T. Abuladze, “Patriot Games” and “Direct and Present Danger” by F. Noyce, “ Aliens" by J. Cameron, "Oldboy" by South Korean director Chan Wook Park.
• Aeroflot airline Airbus A319-112 (tail number VQ-BCO) is named after A.I. Khachaturyan
• Postage stamps were issued in honor of A.I. Khachaturian: Postage Stamp USSR (1983), Postage stamp of Armenia (2003), Postage stamp of Russia (2003)

International Competition named after Aram Khachaturian

The competition is aimed at identifying talented young musicians in three specialties - piano, violin and cello.

International name competition Aram Khachaturyan is being brought to life thanks to the joint efforts of the RA Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Foundation " Aram Khachaturyan- competition" and the Yerevan State Conservatory named after Komitas. The project is carried out under the patronage of the wife of the President of the Republic of Armenia Rita Sargsyan, who is also the honorary president of the competition’s Board of Trustees. The latter includes such famous figures as Professor Jonathan Freeman-Atwood, Valery Gergiev, Professor Reinhart von Gutzeit, Pavel Kogan, Elzbieta and Krzysztof Penderecki and many other significant figures.

The geography of participants is very wide: it includes representatives from the CIS countries, the USA, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Belgium, Great Britain, China and many other countries.

Over ten years, the jury has been filled with true masters of their craft: Grigory Zhislin (Great Britain), Jean Ter-Merkerian (France), Zakhar Bron (Germany), Vladimir Landsman (Canada), Jasper Perrott (Great Britain), Chun Pan (China), Boris Kushnir (Austria), Sergey Kravchenko (Russia), Lucy Ishkhanyan (USA), Alexander Sokolov (Russia), Svetlana Navasardyan (Armenia) and many others. It is these names that guarantee fairness and determine the high status and level of the competition.

Since 2007, the official orchestra of the competition is the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia.

International name competition Aram Khachaturyan is a member of the World Federation of International Music Competitions (WFIMC) - the most prestigious musical family, which includes the international Tchaikovsky and Queen Elizabeth competitions, International musical competition Montreal and many others.

International Festival named after Aram Khachaturian

The opening ceremony of the festival took place on June 6, 2013 in the concert hall Aram Khachaturyan. The festival immediately became one of the most significant and large-scale events in Armenia and the only project whose activities spread far beyond the country’s borders. Thus, performed by the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, the works of our eminent compatriot were presented in Russia, Italy, and many other countries.

Music Khachaturian was also presented in performance foreign performers. As part of the festival, Yerevan and Gyumri, the second capital of Armenia, hosted the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Russia under the direction of Vladimir Spivakov, as well as worldwide famous artists Zakhar Bron, Philip Haim, Maria Domashenko, Mayu Kishima, Nin Fen, Alexander Romanovsky, Vahagn Papyan and many other musicians.

Major works

Ballets

• "Happiness" (1939)
• "Gayane" (1941, second edition 1952)
• “Spartacus” (1956, second edition - 1958, third - 1962, fourth - 1968)

Orchestral works

• Three symphonies (1934, 1944, 1947)
• Dance Suite (1933)
• "Russian Fantasy" (1944)
• "Ode to the Memory of Lenin" (1948)
• "Solemn Poem" (1950)
• "Welcome Overture" (1958)
• Suites from music for ballets, theater productions, films

Concerts

• Concerto for piano and orchestra (1936)
• Concerto for violin and orchestra in D minor (1940)
• Concerto for cello and orchestra (1946)
• Concerto-Rhapsody for violin and orchestra (1961)
• Concert-Rhapsody for cello and orchestra (1963)
• Concert-Rhapsody for piano and orchestra (1968)

Chamber ensembles

• String Quartet (1931)
• Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (1932)
• Works for violin[edit | edit wiki text]
• Dance No. 1 (1926)
• Allegretto (1929)
• Song-poem (in honor of the ashugs) (1929)
• Sonata (1932)

Works for cello

• Song of the wandering ashug (1925)
• Elegy (1925)
• Play (1926)
• Dream (1927)
• Sonata for solo cello (1974)

Works for piano

• Waltz Caprice (1926)
• Dance (1926)
• Poem (1927)
• Seven fugues (later included in the collection “Recitatives and Fugues”) (1928-1929)
• Toccata (1932)
• Three pieces for two pianos (suite) (1944-1945)
• Children's album (first notebook) (1947)
• Sonatina in three movements (1959)
• Sonata in three movements (dedicated to N. Ya. Myaskovsky) (1961; published in two editions)
• Children's album (second notebook) (1965)
• Seven recitatives and fugues (1928-1970)
• Vocalise (from the music for the film "Othello", 1955)

Music for theatrical productions

Filmography

Students

• Andrey Eshpai
• Edgar Oganesyan
• Rostislav Boyko
• Mikael Tariverdiev
• Vladimir Dashkevich
• Eduard Khagagortyan
• Alexey Rybnikov
• Anatole Vieru
• Kirill Volkov
• Mark Minkov
• Victor Ekimovsky
• Georgs Peletsis
• Tolib-khon Shahidi
• Igor Yakushenko
• Vladimir Ryabov
• Murad Akhmetov
• Georgs Peletsis

For centuries there have been legends about the musicality of the peoples of the Caucasus. This is probably why a boy from an Armenian family living on the outskirts of old Tiflis had no other way than to become one of the most outstanding composers and teachers of the 20th century.

short biography

On May 24, 1903, a fourth son was born into the family of bookbinder Ilya Vaskanovich Khachaturian. According to the mother’s recollections, the baby was born wearing a “shirt.” He was named Aram, which means “merciful” in Armenian. As a child, he was restless and playful. From the age of eight, the boy is sent to study at the nearby S.V. boarding school. Arbutinskaya-Dolgorukaya. A child from a simple family found himself among the children of aristocrats and bourgeois only thanks to the fact that Ilya Vaskanovich worked a lot with the library of the hostess of the boarding house. It was there that Aram learned to play the piano and sing. As a teenager, at the insistence of his father, he studied at the Tbilisi Commercial School, and in 1921 he came to Moscow to continue his education at the university, where he entered the biology department.

In the capital, he lives with his brother, the famous Moscow Art Theater director Suren Khachaturyan, attends theaters and concerts, and communicates with the creative elite. E.F. Gnesina was the first to see him musical abilities. And now, after a year at the university, Aram successfully passes the entrance exams to the Music College named after. Gnessins, to the cello class. He studied at both institutions for several years, but three years later he left biology for music. At the same time, he was transferred from the cello class to the composition class, where, under the guidance of M. Gnessin, he composed his first works.

At the end of the 20s, Aram marries and his daughter Nune is born. Since 1929 he has been a student at the Moscow Conservatory. He completed his postgraduate studies with N.Ya. Myaskovsky, about whom he retained warm memories for the rest of his life. In Myaskovsky's class, he met Nina Makarova and decided to end his first marriage. In 1933, the young composers got married, and seven years later they had a son.

Khachaturian's works were performed in major Soviet and foreign concert halls, he was swallowed up social activity and a large amount of work, and the first award in 1939 was the Order of Lenin. From the same year, Khachaturian became deputy chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Union of Composers of the USSR. During the war, as part of a creative group, he was evacuated to Perm, where he worked a lot, acutely perceiving the separation from his family. After the Victory, the joy of reuniting with loved ones and friends, the inspired creative upsurge was destroyed overnight on February 10, 1948. Khachaturian was mentioned in the notorious resolution “On the opera “The Great Friendship” by V. Muradeli.” In one fell swoop, the work of many Soviet composers was erased; Aram Ilyich was no longer published and, at one time, almost no longer performed. This unfair criticism also hit him hard because it split the composer’s camp into two parts – the “formalists” and the “correct” authors. Among the first were Khachaturian, Muradeli, Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Myaskovsky. Among the second to receive positions and fame are Khrennikov, Asafiev, Zakharov. Aram Ilyich perceived these events as a betrayal of those with whom he worked long years. His first desire was to finish writing music, but this turned out to be beyond his control. He began teaching at the conservatory and stood at the conductor's stand.

Despite the fact that the “composer’s” decree was canceled only in 1958, the official authorities could not help but recognize Khachaturian’s merits all these years. This is evidenced by the Stalin Prize in 1950 and the title of People's Artist of the USSR in 1954. Last years Throughout his life, Aram Ilyich struggled with cancer and underwent several operations. In 1976, he was widowed and was grieving the loss of his wife, to whom he was incredibly attached. He drew up the plan for his funeral himself, choosing his historical homeland, Armenia, as his final resting place. On May 1, 1978, he died in a Moscow hospital.

Interesting Facts

• The composer's parents, Ilya (Egiya) Vaskanovich and Kumash Sarkisovna, were from neighboring villages in Armenia. At the age of 13, Ilya went to work in Tiflis. They were engaged to a bride who was 10 years younger than him in absentia, and they got married when she was barely 16.
• Aram was the youngest, fifth child in the family. The Khachaturyans' first daughter died at a young age; the composer had three brothers, the age difference with the eldest of whom, Suren, was 14 years.
• The famous “Sabre Dance” appeared at the request of the ballet directors “ Gayane " Khachaturian recalled that he wrote it in just 11 hours. Ironically, it was thanks to this melody that the composer's name became known to the general public outside the Soviet Union. In the West they even called him “Mr. Saber Dance.”

• Khachaturian collected materials for his first ballet “Happiness” for several months in Armenia, getting acquainted with folk art, motifs and traditional musical instruments.
• Igor Moiseev staged " Spartak " V Bolshoi Theater a year and a half after the Leningrad premiere. In 1968, another version of the ballet was born - choreographed by Yu. Grigorovich.
• Yakobson's Leningrad "Spartacus" and Grigorovich's Moscow are completely different productions - both in choreography and in spirit. Jacobson's performance, scenes from Roman life, was innovative in both form and content. For example, the part of the antagonist of the main character, Crassus, was created for an older dancer and was performed pantomimically. Leonid Yakobson created memorable gladiatorial fights and epic crowd scenes. Yuri Grigorovich's theme is a choreographic duel between Spartacus and Crassus, and in fact, two worlds: the world of gladiators and slaves, the world of the Roman nobility and warriors. Grigorovich created a heroic male ballet, the female characters in it are secondary, while in Jacobson's version Phrygia and Aegina play a significant role in the development of the plot.
• A remade version of Jacobson's Spartacus was also shown at the Bolshoi Theater for some time.
• The Kirov-Mariinsky Theater has always staged only one “Spartacus” - by L. Yakobson. The performance was revived in 1976, 1985 and 2010. The performance is also included in the current repertoire.
• In 2008, St. Petersburg Mikhailovsky Theater presented his version of “Spartacus” based on the libretto and choreography by Georgy Kovtun. The production was distinguished by its pomp and scale: several hundred extras, a four-story set, the presence of live horses and even a tiger.

• The libretto of “Gayane” was redone for almost every production. The Kirov Theater presented the ballet on its stage in 1945. historical scene. New characters appeared in it, were edited storylines, prologue removed, set design changed. In 1952 the ballet was revised for new production. The Bolshoi Theater turned to the work in 1957. And again the script was significantly redone.
• Started with "Gayane" creative path one of the most outstanding choreographers of our time, Boris Eifman. In 1972, he chose this ballet for his graduation work. In agreement with Khachaturian, the plot was changed again. The performance was performed on the stage of the Maly Opera and Ballet Theater in Leningrad and ran for more than 170 performances.
• Today “Gayane” is a rare guest on the Russian stage. You can get acquainted with the work in its entirety only during the infrequent tours of the Armenian academic theater Opera and Ballet named after. A. Spendiaryan, whose calling card is this ballet.
• Even while sick, after two serious operations, Aram Ilyich personally traveled around the country to participate in productions of his ballets.
• Aram Khachaturian created his own school of composition, his most famous students were A. Eshpai, M. Tariverdiev, V. Dashkevich, A. Rybnikov, M. Minkov.

ARAM ILYICH KHACHATURIAN (1903-1978)

Aram Ilyich Khachaturian is an artist with a bright, unique individuality. Temperamental, cheerful, attractive with the freshness of harmony and orchestral colors, his music is permeated with the intonations and rhythms of folk songs and dances of the East. It was folk art that was the source of the deeply unique creativity of this outstanding composer. In his works he also relied on the traditions of world, and primarily Russian, music.

Khachaturian's creativity is diverse in content and genres. The composer wrote ballets, symphonic works, sonatas and concertos for various instruments, songs, romances and choruses, music for theater and cinema. Among his best works are the ballets “Gayane” and “Spartacus”, the second symphony, piano and violin concerts, music for Lermontov’s drama “Masquerade”.

BIOGRAPHY

Childhood and youth. Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was born on June 6, 1903 in Tbilisi in the family of a bookbinder. His mother loved to sing Armenian folk songs, and these tunes were deeply imprinted in the child’s soul. The art of folk singers-ashugs, who performed songs from Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, left an unforgettable impression.

Impressed by the folk melodies he heard, the boy climbed into the attic of the house and spent hours tapping his favorite rhythms on a copper basin. “This initial “musical activity” of mine,” said Khachaturian, “gave me indescribable pleasure, but it drove my parents into despair...”

The family's financial situation was so cramped that Aramne could even dream of a musical education. Therefore, the appearance in the house of an inferior piano, purchased for a pittance, became a big event for the boy. First with one finger, and then with primitive accompaniment, he began to select by ear the melodies of Itan folk songs. “Then I became completely bolder,” Khachaturian recalled, “and began to vary familiar motifs and compose new ones. I remember the joy these – albeit naive, funny, clumsy – but still first attempts at composition gave me.”

When Aram was ten years old, he entered a commercial school. Having independently learned to play wind instruments, he participated in an amateur brass orchestra.

At the age of sixteen, Khachaturian first came to Opera theatre, where I heard the opera “Abesalom and Eteri” - a classic of Georgian music by Zakhary Paliashvili. The impression was so strong that the dream of studying music became persistent.

Finally, in 1921, a turning point came in the young man’s fate. His elder brother Suren Khachaturyan, director of the Moscow Art Theater, came to Tbilisi. Noticing Aramak's attraction to music, Suren Ilyich took him with him to Moscow.

Years of study. At the age of 19, the young man passed the exam at the Moscow Gnessin Music College. He didn't even have basic training. Excellent hearing, musicality, and excellent memory helped me out. Elena Fabianovna and Mikhail Fabianovich Gnessin, experienced teachers, immediately recognized the young man’s natural talent. And so began the years of learning - more, persistent work, doubts, successes, disappointments.

At first, Khachaturian learned to play the cello and piano. But it soon becomes clear that his main vocation is composition. In Mikhail Fabianovich he found a sensitive teacher who managed to quickly develop his natural abilities. Already at the technical school, the aspiring composer wrote “Dance” for violin and piano and “Poem” for piano. These works were published with success.

From 1929 to 1934, Khachaturian studied at the Moscow Conservatory. In the composition class he is studying with M.F. Gnesin, and later N.Ya. Myaskovsky. Now he devotes all his attention to creativity. During these years he wrote “Toccata” for piano, a trio for clarinet, violin and piano, and “Dance Suite” for symphony orchestra.

Already here features appeared that became typical of his more mature works. First of all, these are melodious folk melodies, rich, fresh harmonies, and festive orchestration. The uniqueness and originality of Khachaturian's talent is now beginning to be recognized not only by musicians. His fame is rapidly growing among the broad masses of listeners.

As his graduation work, the young composer presented his first symphony dedicated to Soviet Armenia. Khachaturian brilliantly graduates from the conservatory. His name is included on the Honor Board. In the future, he improves his skills by studying in graduate school.

The beginning of an independent journey. After graduating from the conservatory, the composer worked hard and hard on his new compositions. He addresses various genres. Among those created during the 30s, the most successful were the ballet “Happiness”, piano and especially violin concertos. Khachaturian's music for dramatic performances ("The Valencian Widow", "Masquerade") and films ("Pepo", "Zangezur") gained well-deserved popularity. Khachaturian is also actively involved in the social and musical life of the country, performing responsible work in the Union of Composers.

The piano concert was completed by the composer in 1936. Its first performer was the outstanding Soviet pianist Lev Oborin, to whom it is dedicated. The concert was a great success. It revealed the composer's penchant for a virtuosic, brilliant style. The colors of the harmony became even brighter, the rhythms sharper and more prominent, the melody more expressive.

In 1940, Khachaturian created one of his most significant works - a violin concerto. Here the composer's creative personality was revealed in all its fullness. The concert is dedicated to its first performer - the famous Soviet violinist David Oistrakh.

Khachaturian spent the spring and summer of 1939 in Armenia, where he worked hard on the ballet “Happiness.” In a new genre of ballet, he embodied the theme - the life of the people of Soviet Armenia, the joy and happiness of people, won through labor and struggle.

Two years later, Khachaturian wrote music for the play “Masquerade” (based on Lermontov’s drama) at the Vakhtangov Theater.

Years of war. The Great One has arrived Patriotic War. During the war years, Khachaturian created the songs “Captain Gastello”, “Glory to Our Fatherland”, a march for a brass band “To the Heroes of the Patriotic War” and others.

The ballet “Gayane” and the second symphony appear from works of major genres.

Premiere of the ballet "Gayane" took place in 1942 in Perm, where the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after S.M. was evacuated. Kirov. The performance was a huge success.

The plot of “Gayane” develops dramatically and intensely. The heroes of the ballet are collective farmers and soldiers of the Red Army. Their happiness is inseparable from the well-being of the entire people. For the ballet “Gayane” the composer was awarded the USSR State Prize in 1943, which he contributed to the fund of the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union.

Second Symphony received the name "Symphonies with a Bell". She conveys the experiences of Soviet people during the war. The four movements of the symphony reflect suffering, grief for the dead, memories of happiness and joy, and a premonition of impending victory.

In 1944 Khachaturian writes National anthem Armenian SSR.

Post-war period. In the post-war years, the composer's musical activity expanded significantly. Since 1950, he has been a professor of composition at the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnessin Institute. Khachaturian the teacher paid main attention to the development of the creative individuality of future composers and the national nature of their talent. From his class came such famous composers as A. Eshpai, R. Boyko, E. Oganesyan, M. Tariverdievi and others.

In 1950, the composer began his conducting career. The first concert where Khachaturian made his debut as a conductor took place in Moscow at the House of Scientists. Under the direction of the author, scenes from the ballet “Gayane” and the finale of the violin concerto were performed. The composer visits many cities of the Soviet Union with concerts. His performances also take place abroad with great success. But writing still remains the main goal of his life.

A number of his songs about the friendship of peoples and peace appear. Khachaturian writes a lot of music for films (“The Russian Question”, “The Battle of Stalingrad”, “Vladimir Ilyich Lenin”, “They Have a Homeland” and others), for dramatic performances (“Lermontov” by B. Lavrenev, “Macbeth” and “King Lear” "W. Shakespeare).

In 1946, Khachaturian finished his concerto for cello and orchestra and dedicated it to the first performer, Svyatoslav Knushevitsky, an outstanding Soviet cellist. For the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution, the “Symphony-poem” (symphony No. 3) was created.

The capital work of the post-war period is the ballet “Spartacus”, completed in 1954. For the first time it was staged on the stage of the Leningrad Theater named after S.M. Kirov in 1956, and at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow two years later. Khachaturian was attracted by the image of a man who led something unprecedented in history Ancient world slave revolt. In the heroic resistance of the oppressed, the composer saw much in common with the gathering of peoples for their independence.

Late creativity. During the 60-70s, three rhapsodie concertos were composed (for violin, cello and piano - with orchestra). The composer returns again to the genres of chamber instrumental music: he composes the solo “Sonata-Fontasia” for cello, “Sonata-monologue” for violin and “Sonata-song” for viola.

From the very first post-war years, Khachaturian’s social and musical activities gained special scope. Together with other Soviet musicians, the composer visited many countries around the world. He combined his concert performances with conversations, reports on the Soviet musical culture, which served to further strengthen friendly ties between Soviet Union and other countries.

The composer was awarded the honorary title people's artist THE USSR.