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Aram Khachaturian
http://www.allclassical.com/cg/acg.dll?p=acg&sql=1:7544~C
Country Moscow, Russia
Birth Jun 6, 1903 in Tiflis, Russia
Death May 1, 1978 in Moscow
Period Modern
Composition All Works (162)
Types Vocal Music (30)
Orchestral Music (30)
Keyboard Music (24)
Chamber Music (18)
Music Theater (17)
Choral Music (13)
Concerto (10)
Band Music (8)
Film Music (5)
Ballet Music (3)
Symphony (3)

Although he was indicted (along with Shostakovich, Prokofiev, and a

number of other prominent Soviet musicians) for "formalism," in the
infamous Zhdanov decree of 1948, Aram Khachaturian was, for most
of his long career, one of the Soviet musical establishment's most
prized representatives. Born into an Armenian family, in Tbilisi, in
1903, Khachaturian's musical identity formed slowly, and, although a
tuba player in his school band and a self-taught pianist, he wanted to
be a biologist, and did not study music formally until entering Mo-
scow's Gnesin Music Academy (as a cellist) in 1922. His considerable
musical talents soon manifested themselves, and by 1925 he was
studying composition privately with Gnesin himself. In 1929,
Khachaturian joined Miaskovsky's composition class at the Moscow
Conservatory. Khachaturian graduated in 1934, and before the comple-
tion, in 1937, of his postgraduate studies, the successful premieres of
such works as the Symphony No.2 in A Minor "With a Bell" (1935) and, especially, the Piano Con-
certo in D flat Major (1936) established Khachaturian as the leading Soviet composer of his gen-
eration. During the vicious government-sponsored attacks, in 1948, on the Soviet Composers'
Union (in which Khachaturian, and active member since 1937, also held an administrative func-
tion) Khachaturian took a great deal of criticism. However, although he was officially censured
for employing modernistic, politically incorrect musical techniques which fostered an "anti-
people art," Khachaturian's music contained few, if any, of the objectionable traits found in the
music of some of his more adventuresome colleagues. In retrospect, it was most likely
Khachaturian's administrative role in the Union, perceived by the government as a bastion of
politically incorrect music, and not his music as such, which earned him a place on the black list
of 1948. Nevertheless, Khachaturian made a very full and humble apology for his artistic "errors"
following the Zhdanov decree; his musical style, however, underwent no changes. Khachaturian
joined the composition faculty of the Moscow Conservatory and the Gnesin Academy in 1950,
and that same year he made his debut as a conductor. During the years until his death in 1978
Khachaturian made frequent European conducting appearances, and in January of 1968 he made
a culturally significant trip to Washington, D.C., conducting the National Symphony Orchestra in
a program of his own works. Khachaturian's characteristic musical style draws on the melodic
and rhythmic vitality of Armenian folk music. Although not adverse to sharp dissonance,
Khachaturian never strayed from a basically diatonic musical language. The Piano Concerto and
the Violin Concerto in D Minor are truly Romantic works, virtuosic, clear, and unaffectedly ex-
pressive, remaining therefore popular and frequently performed composition. Of course, many
neither of these works matches the popularity of the famous "Sabre Dance" from the ballet Gay-
ane, which made Khachaturian a household name during World War II. His other works include
film scores, songs, piano pieces, and chamber music. The degree of Khachaturian's success as
a Soviet composer can be measured by his many honors, which include the 1941 Lenin Prize, for
the Violin Concerto, the 1959 Stalin Prize, for the ballet Spartacus, and the title, awarded in 1954,
of People's Artist. -- Blair Johnston

Piano Solo
Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for
1946 Adventures of Ivan, for piano Keyb.
1926 Andantino, for piano Andante for Keyboard
1940 Budionovka, mass dance for piano Dance-Based Keyboard Music
Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for
1947 Children's Album Book 1, for piano Keyb.
1964 Coll. of Character/Single-Movement/Misc. Works for
Children's Album Book 2, for piano
-1965 Keyb.
1944 Choreographic Waltz, for piano Waltz for Keyboard
1933 Dance Suite No.3, for piano Suite/Partita for Keyboard
1926 Dance, for piano in G minor Dance-Based Keyboard Music
Collection of Contrapuntal/Improv. Pieces for Key-
1929 Fugues (6), for piano board
1934 March No.3, for piano March for Keyboard
1961 Piano Sonata, in E flat major 20th/21st Century Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard
1958 Piano Sonatina, in C major 20th/21st Century Sonata/Sonatina for Keyboard
1944 Pieces (3), for 2 pianos Music for Two Keyboards
Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for
1925 Poem, for piano Keyboard
Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for
1927 Poem, for piano in C sharp minor Keyboard
Recitative and Fugue (Double Fugue),
1966 Prelude for Keyboard
for piano
1932 Round Dance, for piano Rondeau for Keyboard
1944 Suite, for 2 pianos Music for Two Keyboards
1932 Suite, for piano Suite/Partita for Keyboard
1932 Toccata, for piano in E flat minor Toccata for Keyboard
Variations on the theme "Solveg", for
1928 20th/21st Century Variations for Keyboard
piano
Character/Single-Movement/Miscellaneous Work for
1978 Vocalise, for piano in C major Keyboard
Waltz-Caprice, for piano in C sharp
1926 Waltz for Keyboard
minor
1926 Waltz-Etute, for piano Waltz for Keyboard

Chamber
1929 Allegretto, for violin & piano Violin with Keyboard
 1926 Dance (Tants) in B flat major, for violin & piano, Op. 1 Violin with Keyboard
1925 Dance No. 1, for violin & piano (1925, unpublished) Chamber Music
1925 Dream, for cello & piano Cello with Keyboard
1925 Elegy, for cello & piano in G minor Cello with Keyboard
1926 Lullaby, for violin & piano Violin with Keyboard
1932 Mass Dance, for bayan Chamber Music
1948 Nocturne, for violin & piano Violin with Keyboard
1927 Pantomime, for oboe & piano Oboe Solo/Sonata
1926 Piece, for cello & piano Cello with Keyboard
1932 Sonata for violin & piano, in D major Violin with Keyboard
1974 Sonata-Fantasie, for cello solo in C major Cello Solo
1975 Sonata-Monologue, for violin solo Violin Solo
1976 Sonata-Song, for viola solo Viola Solo
1925 Song of the Strolling Ashug, for cello & piano Cello with Keyboard
1929 Song-Poem ("In Honor of the Ashugs"), for violin & piano Violin with Keyboard
1931 String Quartet Quartet for Four String Instruments
1932 Trio, for clarinet, violin & piano in G minor Violin with Keyboard

Band music
1929 Field March No.1, for wind orchestra in A flat major Band Music
1930 Field March No.2, for wind orchestra in F minor March for Band
March of the Soviet Militia (orchestrated by D.Braslavsly), for
1973 March for Band
wind band
Pieces (2) on themes from Armenian folk songs, for wind or- Concert/Brass/Marching Band Mu-
1932
chestra sic
Pieces (2) on themes from Uzbek folk songs, for wind orches- Concert/Brass/Marching Band Mu-
1932
tra sic
To the Heroes of the Patriotic War, march for wind band in A
1942 March for Band
flat major
Concert/Brass/Marching Band Mu-
1975 Triumphal Fanfares, for trumpets & drums in F major
sic
1938 Zangezurian March (from film score "Zangezur"), for orchestra March for Band