Aram Khachatryan

The commemorative coin issued by the Central Bank of the Republic of Armenia is dedicated to the 100-th anniversary of Aram Khachatryan (1903-1978), a prominent Armenian musician, composer and conductor. Aram Khachatryan is one of the greatest composers of the 20-th century. His music, which is an original product, carries the best traditions of national and world music. His music is distinguishable for its bright colours, rich melody, and brilliant creative mastery. The three symphonies, the concerts for the piano and violin, the ballets "Gayane" and "Spartacus" are the best musical compositions created by Aram Khachatryan. These have become treasures of the national and world classical music.

Aram Khachaturian (Armenian: Արամ Խաչատրյան, Aram Xačatryan; Russian: Ара́м Ильи́ч Хачатуря́н, Aram Il'ič Xačaturjan) (June 6, 1903 – May 1, 1978) (born in Tiflis, Russian Empire) was a Soviet-Armenian composer whose works were often influenced by Armenian folk music.

Khachaturian's works include concertos for violin, cello, and piano as well as concerto-rhapsodies for the same instruments. The piano concerto originally including an early part for the flexatone, and was his first work to gain him recognition in the West. Khachaturians's three symphonies are varied works, with the third containing parts for fifteen additional trumpets and organ. The composer's largest scaled works are the ballets Spartacus and Gayane, both of which contain Khachaturian's most well-known music, with Gayane featuring in its final act what is easily his most famous music, the "Sabre Dance".

He also wrote several solo piano works, including two albums of music for children (Opp. 62 and 100). Children's Album, Book 1, first published in 1947, contains a smooth and melodic Andantino originally composed in 1926; this piece is commonly known as Ivan Sings, which stems from eight of ten pieces originally being collected as Adventures of Ivan. Children's Album, Book 2, first published in 1964, includes a fugue composed in 1928, and a fast-paced programmatic piece entitled Two Funny Aunties Argued which is sometimes translated as Two Ladies Gossiping. He also composed some film music and incidental music for plays such as the 1941 production of Mikhail Lermontov’s Masquerade, the orchestal suite of which has become relatively popular.

The cinematic quality of his music for Spartacus was clearly seen when the Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia was used as the theme for a popular BBC drama series, The Onedin Line, during the 1970s. Since then, it has become one of the most popular of all classical pieces for UK audiences. Joel Coen's The Hudsucker Proxy also prominently featured music from Spartacus and Gayane (the "Sabre Dance" included). Gayane's adagio was used in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001: A Space Odyssey among other films. He was also the composer for the state anthem of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic, whose tune is one of the five current choices to become the next state anthem of Armenia. The climax of Spartacus was also used in Ice Age: The Meltdown.

Aram Khachatryan
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Catalog ID: 
AM78CM1
Krause ID: 
KM# 108
Value: 
€600
Mintage: 
500
Quality: 
Face value: 
Material: 
Purity: 
0.9999
Weight: 
8.6g
Diameter: 
22mm
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Shape and style: 
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Source of information: 
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