Babadzhanian, Arno

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Babadzhanian, Arno

Babadzhanian, Arno, Armenian pianist and composer; b. Yerevan, Jan. 22, 1921; d. Moscow, Nov. 15, 1983. He studied at the Yerevan Cons., and after graduation in 1947 went to Moscow, where he took courses in piano with Igumnov at the Cons. and in composition with Litinsky at the Armenian Culture Center; he graduated from both in 1948. In 1950 he joined the piano faculty at the Yerevan Cons. His music is derived from the folk-song patterns of Armenia, continuing the line cultivated by Khachaturian, with emphasis on rhythmic coloration in a characteristic quasi-oriental manner. His most ambitious works are a Violin Concerto (1949) and a Cello Concerto (1962), but he also wrote Heroic Ballad for Piano and Orch. (1950), two string quartets (1942, 1947), Piano Trio (1952), Violin Sonata (1959), and a number of popular ballads under such appealing titles as The Song of First Love and Make a Wish.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire