Aram Khachaturian – An Armenian Soul in the Works of a Soviet Composer
Aram Khachaturian – An Armenian Soul in the Works of a Soviet Composer

Summary/Abstract: The present paper seeks to present the life and works of the famous composer of Armenian nationality – but often mentioned as a Soviet composer – Aram Khachaturian (1903–1978). Starting from this duality, from this interesting parallelism, the article investigates in part – next to the life and works of the composer – the historical motives and issues of this “double identity” and the presence of Armenian national elements in the compositions of Aram Khachaturian. In order to understand this dilemma, and the entire creation of the composer, we must be aware of the fact that since the beginning of the twentieth century, more precisely since 1920, when the Russian army occupied the territory of Armenia and the country became a member of the Soviet Union, Armenian culture was deeply influenced by its cultural policy. The article therefore deals with the life of the composer, his musical career, as well as the historical context of the period, while analysing the way in which Aram Khachaturian’s work is perceived in the history of music, as a result of which this remarkable personality is considered an Armenian and Soviet composer, European and Oriental at the same time.

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