Ashot Ariyan (, ; born April 3, 1973) is an Armenian composer and pianist, residing in Canada. He is the author of more than 25 compositions including an opera-ballet, two symphonies, a piano concerto, two symphonic frescos, and a number of chamber works. His compositions have been performed in concert halls in Russia, Armenia, Belgium, Germany, Spain, Canada and the United States.
Living Composers Project

Biography

A native of Armenia, he moved to Moscow to continue his education in composition at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, where he graduated with distinction in 2001. A year later, after gaining a master's degree, he became a Teaching Assistant of Prof.

Karen Khachaturian Karen Surenovich Khachaturian (, ; Moscow, 19 September 1920 – Moscow, 19 July 2011) was a Soviet and Russian composer of Armenian ethnicity and the nephew of composer Aram Khachaturian. Khachaturian was born in Moscow, the son of Suren Khachat ...

at the Moscow Conservatory and taught as a lecturer in Composition and Music Theory. In 2007 he moved to Canada to complete his doctoral thesis at the

University of Montreal A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

, receiving his doctorate in 2013 (doctoral advisor prof. Denis Gougeon). The goal of his doctoral program was to revive the neglected genre of opera-ballet by writing his own work in that medium, entitled "Bilgamesh" (or "

Gilgamesh Gilgamesh (, ; ; originally ) was a hero in ancient Mesopotamian mythology and the protagonist of the ''Epic of Gilgamesh'', an epic poem written in Akkadian during the late 2nd millennium BC. He was possibly a historical king of the Sumer ...

"),Ashot Ariya
Bilgamesh, un ballet-opéra en deux actes: symbiose d'un genre oublié, une mythologie archaïque et une langue morte, Saarbrücken, Deutschland: Presses Académiques Francophones
Presses Académiques Francophones, 2015 in which the archaic Mesopotamian languages Sumerian and Akkadian are used exclusively. Ashot Ariyan has taught Composition and Music Theory at several music institutions including the Central Music School of Moscow Conservatory (ЦМШ),

Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory () is a higher musical educational institution located in Moscow, Russia. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in musical performance and musical research. Th ...

, the

, and

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood, Ontario, Ainslie Wood and Westdale, Ontario, Westd ...

. In 1999, to wide acclaim, Ashot Ariyan performed his own "Concerto-Brevis" for piano and orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, accompanied by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 his symphonic fresco "Sounds of Stonehenge" was performed in Montreal by the UdeM Symphony Orchestra. Later, in January 2011, the same work was performed in Armenia by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and in Moscow by the

Moscow State Orchestra The Moscow State Symphony Orchestra (MSSO) is a Russian orchestra based in Moscow. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservator ...

. His recent work, Planète X (Un train pour l’enfer II) for seven instruments, was performed in Montreal with great success by the Arkea ensemble in November 2013. Many of his chamber works were first performed at the

Moscow Autumn Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

International Music Festival. One of his latest works is a Cycle of 12 Fugues and Postludes for piano, commissioned by the Region of Waterloo Art Fund. In May 2022, a recording company RMN Music has released a "Fugue and Postlude in A" as part of the Modern Music for Piano 4 catalog. In 2016 his music accompanied a presentation of the ballet "Two Suns" directed by Rudolf Kharatian and dedicated to the Centennial of the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Starting 2020 the ballet "Two Suns" has periodically been broadcast on the

Mezzo TV Mezzo is a French television channel, broadcasting classical music (including opera and ballet), jazz and world music. It was formed in 1992 and was called France Supervision until 1998. In 2010 it added a sister channel, Mezzo Live HD. In Ja ...

. Ashot Ariyan has recently been commissioned to compose a piano piece for the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition which will be held in October 2023.Ashot Ariyan Introduces Specially Commissioned Work, "Nashville Nocturn

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Selected works and music pieces

Academic publications

* ''Ashot Ariyan'' Bilgamesh, un ballet-opéra en deux actes: symbiose d'un genre oublié, une mythologie archaïque et une langue morte, Saarbrücken, Deutschland: Presses Académiques Francophones, 2015, .

Stage

*Bilgamesh (Gilgamesh) (opera–ballet), 2009–12

Orchestral music

*Symphony No. 1, 'Manfred', string orchestra, harp, timpani, 1994–96 *Concerto-Brevis, piano, orchestra, 1999 *Symphony No. 2, 2000–01 *Skanda (symphonic fresco no. 1), duduk (oboe from Armenia), orchestra, fixed media, 2002 *Sounds of Stonehenge (symphonic fresco no. 2), 2009 *Perpetuum Mobile, string orchestra, 2016 *Adagio, string orchestra, 2024

Choral music

*For Armenia (text by Valery Bryusov), mixed chorus, 1997 *Deus Lucem, mixed chorus, 2014

Vocal music

*Romance (text by Hovhannes Tumanyan), voice, piano, 1992 *Three Taron Songs (text from a folk source from Armenia), mezzo-soprano, piano, 1994 *Das Grablied (text by Friedrich Nietzsche), baritone, piano, 2017

Piano music

*Children's Pieces, 1989, revised 2015 *Sonata, 1990 *Toccata, Intermedia and Fugue, 1995 *Three Pieces, 1997 *12 Fugues and Postludes, 2015 *"Nashville Nocturne" for piano (commissioned by the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition), 2023 *Five Elegant Pieces for piano, 2024

Chamber music

*Ballade, clarinet, piano, 1991 *Trio, violin, cello, piano, 1993–94 *Capriccio, violin, 1997 *Amaras, clarinet, cello, piano, 1997 *Dedication, cello, 1998 *String Quartet No. 1, 1998–99 *Resonances, French horn, 2 trumpets, trombone, 2 violins, viola, cello, piano, 2005–06 *Dusk, cello, piano, 2007 *Planète X. (Un Train pour l'enfer II), 7 players, 2013 *Sonata for violin and piano, 2020–21 *String Quartet No. 2, 2022

References

Links

*''Samvel Danielyan'' A Canadian-Armenian composer Ashot Ariyan about his works, particularly, his opera-ballet "Bilgamesh" Aravot, 2016 *''Denis Gougeon'' "Que le soleil soit toujours avec vous" Chapelle historique du Bon-Pasteur *''Ариян Ашот. В НАЧАЛЕ БЫЛ ЗВУК'

*''The Nashville Nocturne

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ariyan, Ashot Musicians from Moscow 20th-century Armenian classical composers Armenian composers Russian people of Armenian descent Living people 21st-century classical composers Canadian people of Armenian descent 1973 births Academic staff of Moscow Conservatory