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The Times (London), UK
May 24, 2012 Thursday
Edition 1; National Edition
Alexander Arutiunian: Armenian composer whose Trumpet Concerto became
an instant hit and who went on to specialise in further compositions
for brass
Alexander Arutiunian was best known for his Armenian-tinged Trumpet
Concerto, one of the most popular in the repertoire, though some
critics were rather sniffy about its unabashed populism. His works
were championed by many of the Soviet Union's most brilliant
performers.
The creation of the Soviet Transcaucasian Republic in 1922 initially
transferred resentment from the Ottoman Empire to Moscow. But,
following on from 19th-century Russian artists' fascination with the
Caucasus, the Soviet authorities began to promote the region's
culture, though artists were not to stray too far into any
nationalism.
After the Russified Alexander Spendiarov, the pioneer in treading this
line in Armenian music was Aram Khachaturian, who inspired a
generation of composers including Arutiunian, and together they helped
to maintain Armenian national pride through a series of distinctively
patriotic works.
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian was born in 1920 and came from a
military family. His musical talent was recognised by Spendiarov and
in 1927 he entered Yerevan Conservatory's children's department. After
graduating, he moved to Moscow where he studied under Genrikh Litinsky
and worked at the House of Armenian Culture.
The young Arutiunian was largely unscathed by the sinister accusation
of "Formalism" levelled at Soviet composers in 1948 by the culture
minister Andrei Zhdanov. In 1949 Arutiunian's cantata Motherland won a
Stalin Prize and the following year's Festive Overture epitomised his
style, alternating brash dance music with more reflective
orientalisms, all clothed in a skilfully coloured orchestration.
In 1954 he was made artistic director of the Armenian State
Philharmonic. He later became a professor at the Yerevan State
University. He had already developed his folk-inflected style and in
1950 he collaborated with Arno Babadjanian on the Armenian Suite. That
year turned out to be his annus mirabilis as he wrote the Trumpet
Concerto. It had its fill of energetically twirling music but the
quieter moments had a crooning, almost jazzy quality.
Arutiunian developed a particular interest in brass instruments: the
little Concert Scherzo for trumpet and piano (1955) could almost be an
appendix to the concerto and in 1972 he added the Theme and Variations
for Trumpet and Orchestra. He also wrote concertos for horn (1962),
trombone (1991) and tuba (1992) as well as the brass quintet Armenian
Sketches and the Concerto Fantasy for quintet and orchestra The lively
Piano Concertino (1951) has a clear-eyed optimism that accorded with
the state's artistic priorities but it surely also sprang from his joy
at the birth of his daughter, Narine, to whom it is dedicated. There
was another family dedication, in 1957, of his symphony to his wife
Tamara. After a cataclysmic opening, it settles down to be a warmer,
more romantic work.
He wrote a number of piano miniatures such as Evening in the Ararat
Valley and Soldiers' Dance, both from 1960, that are evocative, the
first warmly perfumed and the second rustically energetic. Restricting
himself to a string orchestra, the Sinfonietta (1966) is less garish
than some of his works, more neo-classical, with a gently nocturnal
ariosa and a tiptoeing pizzicato intermezzo. He was simultaneously
working on his opera, Sayat Nova, about an 18th-century Armenian
folksinger/poet's triumph in a Meistersinger-like competition. In
1988, moved by the earthquake in Spitak, he wrote his violin concerto
Armenia 88 for Ruben Agoronyan. Its grief is controlled with an almost
Bach-like restraint before a more overtly Caucasian finale.
He married Tamara Odenova in 1950. They had a daughter and a son.
Alexander Arutiunian, composer, was born on September 23, 1920. He
died on March 28, 2012, aged 91
From: A. Papazian
May 24, 2012 Thursday
Edition 1; National Edition
Alexander Arutiunian: Armenian composer whose Trumpet Concerto became
an instant hit and who went on to specialise in further compositions
for brass
Alexander Arutiunian was best known for his Armenian-tinged Trumpet
Concerto, one of the most popular in the repertoire, though some
critics were rather sniffy about its unabashed populism. His works
were championed by many of the Soviet Union's most brilliant
performers.
The creation of the Soviet Transcaucasian Republic in 1922 initially
transferred resentment from the Ottoman Empire to Moscow. But,
following on from 19th-century Russian artists' fascination with the
Caucasus, the Soviet authorities began to promote the region's
culture, though artists were not to stray too far into any
nationalism.
After the Russified Alexander Spendiarov, the pioneer in treading this
line in Armenian music was Aram Khachaturian, who inspired a
generation of composers including Arutiunian, and together they helped
to maintain Armenian national pride through a series of distinctively
patriotic works.
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian was born in 1920 and came from a
military family. His musical talent was recognised by Spendiarov and
in 1927 he entered Yerevan Conservatory's children's department. After
graduating, he moved to Moscow where he studied under Genrikh Litinsky
and worked at the House of Armenian Culture.
The young Arutiunian was largely unscathed by the sinister accusation
of "Formalism" levelled at Soviet composers in 1948 by the culture
minister Andrei Zhdanov. In 1949 Arutiunian's cantata Motherland won a
Stalin Prize and the following year's Festive Overture epitomised his
style, alternating brash dance music with more reflective
orientalisms, all clothed in a skilfully coloured orchestration.
In 1954 he was made artistic director of the Armenian State
Philharmonic. He later became a professor at the Yerevan State
University. He had already developed his folk-inflected style and in
1950 he collaborated with Arno Babadjanian on the Armenian Suite. That
year turned out to be his annus mirabilis as he wrote the Trumpet
Concerto. It had its fill of energetically twirling music but the
quieter moments had a crooning, almost jazzy quality.
Arutiunian developed a particular interest in brass instruments: the
little Concert Scherzo for trumpet and piano (1955) could almost be an
appendix to the concerto and in 1972 he added the Theme and Variations
for Trumpet and Orchestra. He also wrote concertos for horn (1962),
trombone (1991) and tuba (1992) as well as the brass quintet Armenian
Sketches and the Concerto Fantasy for quintet and orchestra The lively
Piano Concertino (1951) has a clear-eyed optimism that accorded with
the state's artistic priorities but it surely also sprang from his joy
at the birth of his daughter, Narine, to whom it is dedicated. There
was another family dedication, in 1957, of his symphony to his wife
Tamara. After a cataclysmic opening, it settles down to be a warmer,
more romantic work.
He wrote a number of piano miniatures such as Evening in the Ararat
Valley and Soldiers' Dance, both from 1960, that are evocative, the
first warmly perfumed and the second rustically energetic. Restricting
himself to a string orchestra, the Sinfonietta (1966) is less garish
than some of his works, more neo-classical, with a gently nocturnal
ariosa and a tiptoeing pizzicato intermezzo. He was simultaneously
working on his opera, Sayat Nova, about an 18th-century Armenian
folksinger/poet's triumph in a Meistersinger-like competition. In
1988, moved by the earthquake in Spitak, he wrote his violin concerto
Armenia 88 for Ruben Agoronyan. Its grief is controlled with an almost
Bach-like restraint before a more overtly Caucasian finale.
He married Tamara Odenova in 1950. They had a daughter and a son.
Alexander Arutiunian, composer, was born on September 23, 1920. He
died on March 28, 2012, aged 91
From: A. Papazian