Composer Arno Babajanyan is the author of many songs that have long been the property of the entire vast community known as the Soviet people. Today, these eternal hits with pleasure performed by well-known and novice singers. This article will tell about the biography and work of Arno Babajanyan.
early years
The future composer was born in Erivani (until 1936 it was called Yerevan) in the family of a mathematics teacher. According to some reports, this event occurred on January 21, 1921. However, the boyâs father subsequently ordered the date to be changed to January 22. The fact is that on this day in 1924 V.I. Lenin died, and on the 21st of the first month of the year they began to consider it mourning. Harutyun Babajanyan did not want his son to be deprived of the opportunity to celebrate his birthday, and he changed the date.
First music lessons
Arno's father played the flute well and from childhood began to develop musical abilities in his son. He taught the child as best he could, and at 3 years old the boy already knew how to play several melodies on the old harmonica. In those years, the government of the Armenian USSR, despite its modest possibilities, made great efforts to develop culture. To this end, well-known representatives of science and art were engaged in the search for gifted children. Once, a very young composer Aram Khachaturian came to the kindergarten that Arno attended. He was told about a boy who stood out among other children with his unconditional talent. The maestro listened to the child and recommended him for admission to the group of gifted children, operating at the Yerevan Conservatory. At nine years old, âArmenian Mozartâ wrote the âPioneer Marchâ, and at 12 - received the 1st prize at the competition of young musicians, performing Beethovenâs âFourth Sonnetâ, as well as the rather complex âRondo Capricciosoâ by F. Mendelssohn.
After graduating from a music school at the Yerevan Conservatory, Arno continued his studies at this university, where he studied composition with Armenian composers V. Talyan and S. Barkhudaryan.
In Moscow
In 1938, Arno Babajanyan (a biography as a child is presented above) moved to the capital, and he was immediately taken to the last year of the Musical College named after Gnesins. There he was engaged in composition by V. Ya. Shebalin and piano by E.F. Gnesina.
After graduating from college in 1941, the future famous composer entered the Moscow Conservatory. P.I. Tchaikovsky. A few months after the start of the Second World War, he returned to Yerevan, where he continued his studies at the local conservatory.
Further career
In 1946, Babadzhanyan, together with a group of young colleagues, was sent to Moscow for improvement. In the next few years, he also repeatedly came to the capital, where he took lessons from famous Soviet composers and music teachers.
In 1950-1956, Arno Babajanyan, whose biography was already known to you in his youth, taught piano at the Yerevan Conservatory, receiving the title of Associate Professor in 1956.
In the same year, he moved to Moscow for good.
Work with Rozhdestvensky and Magomayev
The Khrushchev thaw made famous many young poets, including Andrei Voznesensky, Robert Rozhdestvensky and Evgeny Yevtushenko. Arno Babajanyan, whose biography and personal life was known only to close friends, began to actively cooperate with these young talents and wrote many songs with them, including several hits that every resident of the Soviet Union knew.
Soon, a bright creative trio was formed, consisting of Arno Babadzhanyan, Andrei Voznesensky and Muslim Magomayev. Together they created such famous songs as âBlue Taigaâ, âBeauty Queenâ, âSmileâ, âBe with meâ, âRememberâ, âCall meâ, âMoscow Riverâ, âThank youâ, âYearâ love â,â Make a wish â,â At an unexpected hour â,â Meeting â,â Wedding â,â Give me back the music â, etc.
These works became the visiting card of Muslim Magomayev, who thanks to them and his magical voice became one of the most popular singers in the Soviet Union.
Creation
Composer Arno Babajanyan, whose biography is already known to you, wrote many wonderful songs and co-authored with Yevgeny Yevtushenko. Among them are âYour footprintsâ, âTake your timeâ and âFerris wheelâ. His collaboration with the poet Leonid Derbenev was also successful. In particular, its result was the famous song "The Best City of the Earth", which is one of the unofficial hymns of Moscow.
In native Armenia
The music of Arno Babajanyan is international. However, he drew inspiration for creativity in the nature and culture of his homeland. For this, every year Babajanyan came to Armenia and spent several months in the House of Composers in the resort town of Dilijan. It was there that he created his best works of a mature period. These include music for the play based on the novel by William Saroyan âMy heart is in the mountainsâ, the musicals âUncle Baghdasarâ and âThe Bride from the Northâ, which subsequently made a film with the participation of Ara Babajanyan, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Inna Makarova, Yuri Medvedev, and other works.
"Serious" music
Although the songs of Arno Babajanyan are most popular, he is the author of many symphonic, chamber and instrumental works. The most famous include:
- âHeroic Balladâ, written for piano and orchestra, which clearly shows the connection and continuity of the work of Arno Babajanyan with the work of other Armenian composers;
- sonata for violin and piano, written in 1959;
- piano trio (1952);
- âSix musical paintingsâ in which the Armenian folklore elements are woven together with musical techniques characteristic of serious music of the 60s of the last century, etc.
The works of Babajanyan, such as The Poem, included in the program of the Competition named after him, gained great fame. P. Tchaikovsky, âArmenian Rhapsodyâ and âFestiveâ. And these are far from all the masterpieces of the composer, which researchers of his biography always mention.
Arno Babajanyan: the disease
The composer passed away in November 1983. For about 20 years, since the mid-60s, he suffered from leukemia. For that time it was a real miracle. After all, with the then development of medicine, cancer patients could hope to prolong their life only for a few years.
Throughout this time, his wife Teresa Sokratovna and son Ara were next to Arno Arutyunovich. Their family adhered to Armenian traditions and was exemplary throughout its existence. Teresa Socratova was a pianist in her youth and was able to subtly feel the music, giving Arno Arutyunovich practical advice.
Ara Babajanyan, who in his youth was a good pop singer and starred in several art films, today heads the Foundation named after his father.
Now you know what trace in the history of Soviet music Arno Babajanyan left. You also know the biography, personal life and work of the composer, and his songs and other musical works will please everyone who was born in the USSR for many years to come.