Ashot Ariyan

Composer / Pianist

Biography

Photo Ashot Ariyan

A native of Armenia, he moved to Moscow to continue his education in composition at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory, where he graduated with distinction in 2001. A year later, after gaining a master's degree, he became a Teaching Assistant of Prof. Karen Khachaturian at the Moscow Conservatory and taught as a lecturer in Composition and Music Theory.

In 2007, he moved to Canada to complete his doctoral thesis at the University of Montreal, receiving his doctorate in 2013. The goal of his doctoral program was to revive the neglected genre of opera-ballet by writing his own work in that medium, entitled “Bilgamesh” (or “Gilgamesh”), in which the archaic Mesopotamian languages Sumerian and Akkadian are used exclusively.

Ashot Ariyan has taught composition and music theory at several music institutions including the Central Music School of Moscow Conservatory (ЦМШ), Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the University of Montreal, and McMaster University.

In 1999, to wide acclaim, Ashot Ariyan performed his own “Concerto-Brevis” for piano and orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, accompanied by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 his symphonic fresco “Sounds of Stonehenge” was performed in Montreal by the UdeM Symphony Orchestra. Later, in January 2011, the same work was performed in Armenia by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and in Moscow by the Moscow State Orchestra. His recent work, Planète X (Un train pour l’enfer II) for seven instruments, was performed in Montreal with great success by the Arkea ensemble in November 2013. Many of his chamber works were first performed at the Moscow Autumn International Music Festival. One of his latest works is a Cycle of 12 Fugues and Postludes for piano, commissioned by the Region of Waterloo Art Fund.

In May 2022, a recording company RMN Music has released a “Fugue and Postlude in A” as part of the Modern Music for Piano 4 catalog. In 2016 his music accompanied a presentation of the ballet "Two Suns" directed by Rudolf Kharatian and dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian genocide. Starting 2020, the ballet "Two Suns" has periodically been broadcast on the Mezzo TV.

Ashot Ariyan has taught composition and music theory at several music institutions including the Central Music School of Moscow Conservatory (ЦМШ), Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the University of Montreal, and McMaster University.

In 1999, to wide acclaim, Ashot Ariyan performed his own “Concerto-Brevis” for piano and orchestra in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, accompanied by the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 his symphonic fresco “Sounds of Stonehenge” was performed in Montreal by the UdeM Symphony Orchestra. Later, in January 2011, the same work was performed in Armenia by the National Philharmonic Orchestra and in Moscow by the Moscow State Orchestra. His recent work, Planète X (Un train pour l’enfer II) for seven instruments, was performed in Montreal with great success by the Arkea ensemble in November 2013. Many of his chamber works were first performed at the Moscow Autumn International Music Festival. One of his latest works is a Cycle of 12 Fugues and Postludes for piano, commissioned by the Region of Waterloo Art Fund.

In May 2022, a recording company RMN Music has released a “Fugue and Postlude in A” as part of the Modern Music for Piano 4 catalog. In 2016 his music accompanied a presentation of the ballet "Two Suns" directed by Rudolf Kharatian and dedicated to the Centennial of the Armenian genocide. Starting 2020, the ballet "Two Suns" has periodically been broadcast on the Mezzo TV.

Video

Excerpts of music

Concerto Brevis for piano and orchestra
(extract)

Sounds of Stonehenge
(Symphonic Fresco #2, extract)

String Quartet No1
(extract)

Trio for violin, cello and piano
(extract)

"Amaras" for cello, clarinet and piano
(extract)

Toccata, Intermede and Fugue extract

List of works

1989

“Children's Pieces” for piano (revised and enlarged in 2015)

 

1991

“Ballade” for clarinet and piano

 

1992

“Romance” for voice and piano (text by H. Tumanyan)

 

1993-1994

Trio for Violin, Cello and Piano

 

1994

“Three Taron Songs” for mezzo-soprano and piano

 

1995

“Toccata, Intermedia and Fugue” for piano

 

1994-1996

"Manfred" - Symphony no. 1 for string orchestra

 

1997

“Capriccio” for solo violin

 

1997

“Three Pieces” for piano

 

1997

"Amaras" for clarinet, cello and piano

 

1997

"For Armenia" - poem for a cappella choir (text by V. Brusov)

 

1998

"Dedication" for solo cello

 

1998-1999

String Quartet

 

1999

"Concerto-Brevis" for piano and orchestra

 

2000-2001

Symphony no. 2

 

2002-2003

"Skanda" - Symphonic Fresco no.1 for duduk, tape and symphony orchestra

 

2005-2006

"Resonances" for 2 violins, viola, cello, piano and brass quartet

 

2007

"Dusk" for cello and piano

 

2009

"Sounds of Stonehenge" - Symphonic Fresco no. 2

 

2009-2012

Opera-Ballet "Bilgamesh" (or Gilgamesh)

 

2013

Planète X. (Un train pour l'enfer II) for 7 instruments

 

2014

“Deus Lucem” for mixed choir

 

2015

Cycle of 12 Fugues and Postludes for piano

 

2016

“Perpetuum Mobile” for string orchestra

 

2017

“Das Grablied” for baritone and piano (text by F. Nietzsche)

 

2019-2020

Sonata for Violin and Piano

 

2022

String Quartet No. 2

 

2023

"Nashville Nocturne" for piano (commissioned by the Nashville International Chopin Piano Competition)

 

Gilgamesh

Bilgamesh or Gilgamesh

Composed between 2009 and 2012, my opera-ballet "Bilgamesh" represents an ambitious project for two special reasons. Firstly, there is the attempt to revive a partially forgotten genre opera-ballet. Secondly, the ancient language of Mesopotamia, Sumerian, and Akkadian are used exclusively. Drawing a parallel with other art forms, one must observe that the blending of singing and dance is more and more gaining a place in popular music, and in contemporary cinema, producers prefer more often the use of little-known but authentic languages to reflect the atmosphere of long-forgotten times. It is my deep conviction that a mythological subject opens up enormous possibilities for the embodiment of the ideas mentioned above, where dead languages can join together with the opera-ballet form in a single organism, strengthening the action on stage with special, sacred thoughts.

The title itself is no accident. The name Gilgamesh is a Babylonian alteration of the original name of the hero, Bilgamesh, in Sumerian.