Was Khachaturian a good composer?
Was Khachaturian a good composer?
Although describing him as an important and highly popular composer and a “man of pronounced gifts”, New York Times critic Harold C. Schonberg argued on his death in 1978 that Khachaturian “frankly composed popular music” and that after being exposed to his work it becomes evident that it is mostly “formula writing”.
Who is the translator of the Khachaturian text?
Xenia Danko (translator). Moscow: Foreign Languages Publishing House. Tigranov, Georgiĭ (1978). Арам Ильич Хачатурян: очерк жизни и творчества [Aram Khachaturian: Outline of Life and Work] (in Russian). Leningrad: Muzyka.
Was Khachaturian a mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient?
“Never dissociating himself from the traditions of Russian music, he came to be regarded in Moscow as a mouthpiece of the entire Soviet Orient, gathering up all the diverse traditions into a grand generalization”, concludes Marina Frolova-Walker. Khachaturian is generally considered one of the leading composers of the Soviet Union.
Why was Khachaturian so unpopular in the west?
Tim Ashley wrote in The Guardian in 2009 that Khachaturian’s popularity fell in the West, because of his image as one of Soviet music’s “yes-men”. Such a view is simplistic, given that he had a major brush with the authorities in 1948.
What did Khachaturian do with the money of the prize money?
Khachaturian returned the money of the prize to the state with a request to use it for building a tank for the Red Army.
What ballet did Aram Khachaturian write the music to?
In 1939 Aram Khachaturian wrote the music to the first Armenian ballet Happiness. ^ “Khachaturian’s world renown was due to his two Romantic ballets Gayaneh and Spartacus, and his attractively melodious concertos.”
How did Khachaturian influence Shostakovich?
His Armenian-influenced First Symphony, which Khachaturian composed as a graduation work from the Moscow Conservatory in 1935, “drew the attention of prominent conductors and was soon performed by the best Soviet orchestras” and was admired by Shostakovich.
