BACKGROUND TO…

Aram Khachaturian (1903-78)

Though Khachaturian showed an early talent for music, he initially studied biology before he enrolled at the Gnessin School of Music in Moscow. His composition teacher, Mikhail Gnessin, encouraged him to draw on his firsthand experiences of Caucasian folk music. At the Moscow Conservatory he studied under Myaskovsky. Khachaturian’s precipitous rise followed the premiere of his Piano Concerto in 1937. As deputy president of the Union of Soviet Composers’ Organising Committee, he established rural retreats for composers to work in peace even during World War II.