Arno Babajanian


Arno Harutyuni Babajanian was a Soviet and Armenian composer and pianist. He was made a People's Artist of the USSR in 1971.
WWW babajanyan.ru

Biography

Babajanian was born in Yerevan on January 22, 1921. By age 5, his musical talent was apparent, and the composer Aram Khachaturian suggested that the boy be given proper music training. Two years later, in 1928, Babajanian entered the Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan. In 1938, he continued his studies in Moscow with Vissarion Shebalin.
He later returned to Yerevan, where from 1950 to 1956 he taught at the conservatory. In 1952, he wrote the Piano Trio in F-sharp minor. It received immediate acclaim and was regarded as a masterpiece from the time of its premiere. Subsequently, he undertook concert tours throughout the Soviet Union and Europe. In 1971, he was named the People's Artist of the USSR.
Babajanian wrote in various musical genres, including many popular songs in collaboration with leading poets such as Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Robert Rozhdestvensky. Much of his music is rooted in Armenian folk music and folklore, which he generally uses in the virtuosic style of Rachmaninoff and Khachaturian. His later works were influenced by Prokofiev and Bartók. Praised by Dmitri Shostakovich as a "brilliant piano teacher", Babajanian was also a noted pianist and often performed his own works in concerts.

List of principal works

Piano works

for piano solo

  • Prelude
  • Vagharshapat dance
  • Impromptu
  • Polyphonic sonata
  • Capriccio
  • Six pictures
  • Poem
  • Meditation
  • Melody and Humoresque
  • Elegy

for two pianos

Works for solo instrument and piano

Chamber works

Orchestral works

Concerto

Ballet pieces

  • "Parvana"
  • "Stellar symphony"
  • "Umbrellas"
  • "Sensation"
  • "Dance Suite"

Pieces for stage orchestra

Film scores

Songs (over 200 in total; selection)

  • "Nocturne"
  • "Bring me back the music"
  • "Beauty queen"
  • "Wedding"
  • "Best city in the world", originally performed by Jean Tatlian and made a classic by Muslim Magomayev
  • "Grateful to you"
  • "Ferris wheel"
  • "Heart on snow"
  • "The blue taiga"
  • "Dum spiro, spero"
  • "Aria-vocalise"

Honors, prizes and medals

A minor planet, 9017 Babadzhanyan, was named after him.
A Boeing 777-300ER of the Russian airline Aeroflot, was named after him.

Legacy

Babajanian is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Soviet era.