Khachaturian, Karen (Surenovich)

Khachaturian, Karen (Surenovich), Russian composer, nephew of Aram (Ilich) Khachaturian; b. Moscow, Sept. 19, 1920. He studied at the Moscow Cons, with Litinsky. During World War II, he served in the entertainment division of the Red Army. He resumed studies in 1945 at the Moscow Cons, with Shebalin, Shostakovich, and Miaskovsky, graduating in 1949. He then joined its faculty in 1952. His music follows the general line of socialist realism, nationalist or ethnic in thematic resources and realistic in harmonic and contrapuntal treatment. He wrote a number of effective scores for films.

Works

dramatic:An Ordinary Girl, operetta (1959); Cipollino, ballet (Kiev, Nov. 8, 1974). ORCH. : Sinfonietta (1949); Youth Overture (1949; Moscow, Dec. 10, 1951); New-Year Tree, suite (1951); In Mongolia, suite (1951); Oriental Suite (1952); Sports Suite (1954); 4 syms.: No. 1 (Moscow, March 12, 1955), No. 2 (Moscow, Nov. 27, 1968), No. 3 (Moscow, Oct. 15, 1982), and No. 4 (1991); Friendship Overture (1959); At the Circus, suite (1968); Concerto for Piano and Chamber Orch. (1974); Cello Concerto (1983); Epitaph for Strings and Percussion (1986). chamber: Violin Sonata (1947); Cello Sonata (1966); String Quartet (1969); Trio for Horn, Violin, and Piano (1981); String Trio (1984). VOCAL : Glory to Consomol for Chorus and Orch. (Moscow, Oct. 29, 1948); At the Lone Willow, cantata (1950); A Moment of History, oratorio to documented texts of the Soviet Revolution of 1917 (Moscow, April 26, 1971); choruses; songs.

Bibliography

M. Uspenskaya, K. K. (Moscow, 1956); E. Dolinskaya, K. K. (Moscow, 1975).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire