Innovators of the Department of Composition. Avet Terteryan

Abstract

The article presents the crucial role of the Department of Composition in the history of Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory. Presenting the achievements of the professors of the Department, significant importance is given to courses of composition and orchestration. The focus is upon famous Armenian composer Avet Terteryan (1929-1994), who taught orchestration course in conservatory during 1970-1985, where he engaged students into the sphere of orchestral thought and centered them around contemporary organization of musical space and time. The author groups Terteryan’s eight symphonies by the properties of the genre into vocal and instrumental. Here, the composer uniquely interprets the timbral properties of orchestral wind instruments. The article sheds light onto some of Terteryan’s innovative principles, particularly in the field of pitch organization, choice of tone colours (use of European and traditional Eastern instruments widespread among Armenian people) and technical tools of tone modification (tape, synthesizer, amplifier).