Karen Khachaturyan

Karen Surenovich Khachaturyan was born in Moscow on 20 September 1920 and trained as a composer in the Soviet capital. He was the nephew of the composer Aram Khachaturian, and his career unfolded within the framework of the Moscow Conservatory, where he studied with Shebalin, Shostakovich and Myaskovsky.

Following his training, he held a professorship at the Conservatory, where he went on to head the orchestration department. His official career was recognised with the titles of Honoured Art Worker of the RSFSR and People's Artist of the RSFSR, in addition to the award of a State Prize. His output spans stage works, choral music, symphonies, chamber music, incidental music, film scores for animated cartoons and works for children.

His style is marked by economy of means and by thematic material that is often instrumental in character. The orchestral writing is expressive and varied, with incisive rhythmic impulses at the outset and ostinatos of great dynamic weight. He employed serial techniques and, on occasion, elements of Armenian folklore appear. He frequently turned to polyphonic forms and to polyphony as a means of development.

His ballet Chippolino, based on Gianni Rodari, was one of his most notable successes, and several leading Soviet performers, including Leonid Kogan, David Oistrakh, Kirill Kondrashin and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky, were among those who championed his music. His legacy lies in the line of Shostakovich, particularly in his early compositions, and his music occupied a prominent place in Soviet musical life in the second half of the twentieth century.