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Aram Khachaturian 1903–1978

by G. N.

Aram Khachaturian died in Moscow on May 1; he was 74. After the death of Shostakovich (1975) he undoubtedly assumed the position as the Soviet Union’s most senior and respected composer, though his fame in the West rests chiefly on two ballets, Gayane (1942, from which comes the ‘Sabre Dance’) and Spartacus (1954, revised 1968; recently popularized by its use in a BBC television serial). Although he never attempted opera, Khachaturian did tend to show his talents to their best advantage in dramatic music, whether it be ballet, incidental music for stage plays, or film scores (of which he wrote about 25). Some of his other large-scale works came in for sharp criticism during the 1948 Zhdanov censures, notably the Third Symphony (1947) written in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the October Revolution. But he gained considerable success with such works as the Piano Concerto (1936, introduced to England by Moura Lympany in 1940), the Second Symphony (1943) and a series of concert rhapsodies, for violin (1961-2), cello (1963) and piano (1965). In these Khachaturian displays a characteristic vitality of rhythm, a penchant for rich orchestration and an effulgent melodic style, frequently owing much to the inflections of the folk-music of his native Armenia.

Musical Times, July 1978