Ghazaros Saryan

Ghazaros (Lazarus) Saryan
Ղազարոս (Լազար) Սարյան
Лазарь Мартиросович Сарьян
Ghazaros (Lazarus) Saryan; Ղազարոս (Լազար) Սարյան; Лазарь Мартиросович Сарьян
Born	30 September 1920; Rostov-on-Don, Russian SFSR
Died	27 May 1998 (aged 77); Yerevan, Armenia
Occupation(s)	Composer; Educator

Ghazaros (Lazarus) Saryan (Armenian: Ղազարոս Սարյան, Russian: Лазарь Мартиросович Сарьян; 30 September 1920 – 27 May 1998) was an Armenian composer and educator.^[1]

Life and career

Ghazaros Saryan was born into a family of distinguished Armenian artists. He was the son of renowned painter Martiros Saryan and the grandson of the prominent writer Ghazaros Aghayan. Musically gifted, Ghazaros attended the Yerevan State Conservatory from 1934 to 1938, where he studied composition with Sargis Barkhudaryan and Vardges Talyan. Afterwards, he travelled to Moscow and enrolled in the composition class of Vissarion Shebalin at the Gnessin State Musical College.

With the outbreak of World War II in 1941, Ghazaros was drafted into the Soviet army and served actively until 1945. Subsequently, he entered the Moscow Conservatory. Among his composition teachers were Dmitri Kabalevsky, Dmitri Shostakovich and Anatoly Nikolayevich Alexandrov. Saryan graduated in 1950.^[2]

Upon his return to Armenia, Saryan joined the faculty of the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory where he taught orchestration. During 1955–56, he was chairman of the Armenian Composers' Union. In 1960, he was appointed rector of the Conservatory, a position he retained until 1986. Saryan taught composition as well, training such Armenian composers as Tigran Mansurian, Rober Altunyan, Vardan Adjemyan and Ruben Sargsyan.

Ghazaros Saryan was essentially a composer of symphonic oeuvre. He also wrote works for chamber music, as well as several film scores.

Saryan received many awards, including the People's Artist of the Armenian SSR (1983) and the People's Artist of the USSR (1991). For his military service he was decorated with the Red Star Medal.

Saryan's Armenia: Symphonic Panels was performed in 1991 at the Pierre Boulez Contemporary Music Center in Metz, France, and his Passacaglia was presented in 1995 during the Athens Music Festival.

Ghazaros Saryan's manuscripts are deposited at the Martiros Saryan Museum, in Yerevan, Armenia.

Compositions

Saryan on a 2020 stamp of Armenia

Orchestra

Symphonic Poem, 1950
Symphonic Images, 1956
Հանդիսավոր նախերգանք [Festive Overture], 1957
Adagio and Dance, string orch, 1957
Serenade, 1959
Armenia: Symphonic Panels on motifs by Martiros Saryan, 1966
Vn Concerto, 1972
Symphony, 1980
Choreographic Composition, 1987
Passacaglia, 1994
Fanfares, 1996
Andante and Presto, vn, chm orch, 1997

Vocal

Սովետական Հայաստան [Soviet Armenia], vocal soloists and chorus, 1950
Երգ խաղաղության [Peace Song], voice, pf, 1951
Խաղաղության օրը [Day of Peace] (vocal-symphonic suite), chorus and orch, 1953
Քեզ եմ երգում, Հայրենիք [Fatherland, I Am Singing of You], voice, pf, 1955

Instrumental

Theme with Variations, pf, 1947
Sonata no. 1, vc, pf, 1948
String Quartet no. 1, 1949
Dance, pf, 1955
Concert Piece, trp, pf, 1962
Aria and Toccata, vn, pf, 1966
Պապիկի ժամացույցը [Grandfather's Clock], pf, 1970
String Quartet no. 2, 1986
Sonata no. 2, vc, pf, 1989
3 Postludes, pf, 1990

Romances

Ինչու՞ ուշացար [Why Are You Late?], 1956
Հինգ քնարական երգեր [Five Lyrical Songs], 1960

Film Scores

Փեսատես [Visiting the Groom], 1953
Մանրունք [Small Change], 1954
Հովազաձորի գերիները [The Captives of Hovazadzor], 1956
Առաջին սիրո երգը [The Song of First Love] (composed with Arno Babadjanian), 1958
01-99, 1959
Նրա երազանքը [Her Fantasy], 1959
Մեր թաղի ձայները [The Voices of Our Neighborhood], 1960
Մարտիրոս Սարյան [Martiros Saryan], 1965
Արևային գույների մեղեդին [Melodies of Sunshine], 1979

References

^ Svetlana Sarkisian, "Saryan, Ghazar," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980.
^ Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol 10, p 238.

Recordings

http://cdbaby.com/cd/lazarsaryan Archived 2008-05-05 at the Wayback Machine (Chamber Music)
http://cdbaby.com/cd/lazarsaryan2 Archived 2016-12-01 at the Wayback Machine (Symphonic Music)

External links

[1] Svetlana Sarkisian, "Saryan, Ghazar," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 1980.

[2] Soviet Armenian Encyclopedia, vol 10, p 238.

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