KHATCHATURIAN Aram

Bio

Aram Il'yich Khachaturian (1903 - 1978) was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered to have been one of the leading Soviet composers. During most of his career, Khachaturian was approved by the Soviet government and held several high posts in the Union of the Soviet Composers from the late 1930s. Along with Sergei Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich, he was officially denounced as a "formalist", and his music dubbed "anti-people" in 1948, but was restored later that year. Khachaturian, who created the first Armenian ballet music, symphony, concerto, and film score is considered the most renowned Armenian composer of the 20th century. While following the established musical traditions of Russia, he broadly used Armenian and, to lesser extent, Caucasian, Eastern and Central European, and Middle Eastern peoples' folk music in his works. He is highly regarded in Armenia, where he is considered a "national treasure".