"Ghazaros (Lazar) Saryan as a Successor of Aram Khachaturian."

Abstract

Chief Curator of the Martiros Saryan House-Museum Sofia Lazar Saryan. - "Ghazaros (Lazar) Saryan as a Successor of Aram Khachaturian." A. Khachaturian's name is associated with both Armenian and world music of the 20th century, as well as with the creation of a new school of music composition. In the 40s - the 50s of the 20th century, a new constellation of Armenian composers appeared, with the mission to embrace and to further develop A. Khachaturian's innovative approach. By analogy with the Russian "Mighty Handful", or "Russian Five", this group of composers was called the "Armenian Five". Ghazaros Saryan was one of them. The son of the outstanding 20th-century artist Martiros Saryan and the grandson of the famous writer and teacher Ghazaros Aghayan, Gh. Saryan was a man of great distinction and human qualities, who significantly contributed to the development of Armenian musical culture. It is notable, that for this dynasty of artists the year 2020 was especially rich for jubilee dates: this year we've celebrated the 180th anniversary of Gh. Aghayan and the 140th anniversary of M. Saryan, as well as the centenary of Ghazaros Saryan. A. Khachaturian has not been Saryan's immediate teacher; his studies were interrupted in 1939 since the future composer was called up to serve in the Red Army, and at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War he was sent to the front. After the war, Saryan continued his education at the Moscow Conservatory, in Dmitry Shostakovich's class. However, the contribution of A. Khachatur - ian was much more than just teaching "the rules of music". In his works Saryan was able to interpret and develop in his own unique way the principles, proposed by A. Khachaturian for writing film music and for creating the complex sound of an orchestra. People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the State Prize, Professor Gh. Saryan for 26 years was the rector of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. In that capacity, he managed to introduce the most progressive trends in musical culture and largely contributed to the high level of development in all areas of Armenian professional music education.