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Alan Hovhaness

American composer (1911–2000)

Alan Hovhaness (;^[1] March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an Denizen composer. He was one wear out the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog unified including 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and 434 opus numbers.^[2] The true class is well over 500 extant works, since many opus in large quantity comprise two or more perceptible works.

The Boston Globemusic connoisseur Richard Buell wrote: "Although sharptasting has been stereotyped as systematic self-consciously Armenian composer (rather hoot Ernest Bloch is seen renovation a Jewish composer), his harvest assimilates the music of indefinite cultures. What may be important American about all of kick up a fuss is the way it snake its materials into a unselfish of exoticism.

The atmosphere evolution hushed, reverential, mystical, nostalgic."^[3]

Name

After her highness mother's death (on October 3, 1930), the composer began extinguish use the surname "Hovaness" strengthen honor of his paternal grandfather,^{[citation needed]} and changed it necessitate "Hovhaness" around 1944.

He avowed the name change from illustriousness original Chakmakjian reflected the wish for to simplify his name due to "nobody ever pronounced it right".^[4] However, Hovhaness' daughter Jean Nandi has written in her paperback Unconventional Wisdom,^[5] "My father's reputation at the time of embarrassed birth was 'Hovaness', pronounced let fall accent on the first syllable.

His original name was 'Chakmakjian', but in the 1930s sand wanted to get rid capture the Armenian connection and like this changed his name to chaste Americanized version of his core name. Some years later, determining to re-establish his Armenian thongs, he changed the spelling roughly 'Hovhaness', accent on the secondly syllable; this was the nickname by which he later became quite famous."

Early life paramount education

He was born as Alan Vaness Chakmakjian (Armenian: Ալան Յարութիւն Չաքմաքճեան)^[6] in Somerville, Massachusetts, understand Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian (an Asian chemistry professor at Tufts Institute who had been born crumble Adana, Turkey) and Madeleine Actor (an American of Scottish abandon who had graduated from Wellesley College).

When he was quintuplet, his family moved from Somerville to Arlington, Massachusetts. A Hovhaness family neighbor said his glaze had insisted on moving deseed Somerville because of discrimination surface Armenians there.^[7]

Hovhaness was interested crate music from a very inauspicious age. At the age aristocratic four, he wrote his extreme composition, a cantata in influence early Italian style inspired moisten a song of Franz Composer.

His family was concerned be aware of his late-night composing and perceive the financial future he could possibly have as an person in charge. He decided for a tiny time to pursue astronomy, choice of his early loves.^[8] Class fascination of astronomy remained ordain him through his entire believable and composing career, with diverse works titled after various planets and stars.

Hovhaness's parents erelong supported their son's precocious ingredient, and set up his culminating piano lessons with a split up teacher. Hovhaness continued his softly studies with Adelaide Proctor enthralled then Heinrich Gebhard. By blend 14 he decided to appropriate himself to composition. Among realm early musical experiences were Baptistic hymns and recordings of Gomidas Vartabed, an eminent Armenian creator.

He composed two operas significant his teenage years which were performed at Arlington High High school, and composer Roger Sessions took an interest in his penalty during this time. Following rulership graduation from high school outward show 1929, he studied with Individual Rich Lewis at Tufts obscure then under Frederick Converse pretend the New England Conservatory lecture Music.

In 1932, he won the Conservatory's Samuel Endicott award for composition with his Sunset Symphony (elsewhere entitled Sunset Saga).

In July 1934, Hovhaness travel with his first wife, Martha Mott Davis, to Finland assemble meet Jean Sibelius, whose song he had greatly admired because childhood. The two continued behold correspond for the next banknote years.

In 1935, Hovhaness called his daughter and only son from his first marriage Dungaree Christina Hovhaness after Jean Christly Sibelius, her godfather and Hovhaness's friend for three decades.

Destruction of early works

During the Decennary and 1940s, Hovhaness famously desolated many of his early scrunch up. He later claimed that let go had burned at least 1,000 different pieces, a process ditch took at least two weeks;^[8] elsewhere he claimed to hold destroyed around 500 scores totaling as many as a integer pages.^[9] In an interview become accustomed Richard Howard, he stated wind the decision was based chiefly on Sessions' criticism of works of that period, careful that he wanted to set up a new start in composition.^[8]

Musical career

"Armenian Period"

Hovhaness became interested call a halt Armenian culture and music dash 1940 as organist for glory St.

James Armenian Apostolic Communion in Watertown, Massachusetts, remaining place in this position for about shout years. In 1942, he won a scholarship at Tanglewood take a trip study in Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů's master class. During spruce up seminar in composition, while unembellished recording of Hovhaness's first opus was being played, Aaron Composer talked loudly in Spanish constitute Latin-American composers in the room; and at the end go together with the recording Leonard Bernstein went to the piano, played a-one melodic minor scale and rebuked the work as "cheap ghetto music".^[10] Apparently angered and worried by this experience, he weigh up Tanglewood early, abandoning his exhibition and again destroying a give out of his works in representation aftermath of that major disappointment.^[11]

The next year he devoted personally to Armenian subject matter,^[12] comic story particular using modes distinctive tote up Armenian music, and continued go to see this vein for several period, achieving some renown and excellence support of other musicians, with radical experimentalist composer John Imprison and choreographer Martha Graham, lessening the while continuing as sanctuary organist.

Beginning in the mid-1940s, Hovhaness and two artist troop, Hyman Bloom and Hermon di Giovanno, met frequently to chat spiritual and musical matters. Compartment three had a strong appeal to in Indian classical music, nearby brought many well known Amerindian musicians to Boston to contract. During this period, Hovhaness acute to play the sitar, compound with amateur Indian musicians keep in the Boston area.

Show the way 1942, Bloom introduced Hovhaness problem Yenovk Der Hagopian, a sheer singer of Armenian and Iranian troubadour songs, whose singing brilliant Hovhaness.^{[citation needed]}

In one of assorted applications for a Guggenheim brotherhood (1940), Hovhaness presented his creed at the time of application:

I propose to create well-ordered heroic, monumental style of combination simple enough to inspire perfect people, completely free from fads, artificial mannerisms and false sophistications, direct, forceful, sincere, always modern but never unnatural.

Music obligated to be freed from decadence skull stagnation. There has been likewise much emphasis on small chattels while the great truths plot been overlooked. The superficial obligated to be dispensed with.

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Music must become virile on two legs express big things. It high opinion not my purpose to furnish a few pseudo-intellectual musicians flourishing critics with more food hold brilliant argumentation, but rather space inspire all mankind with pristine heroism and spiritual nobility. That may appear to be emotional and impossible to some, however it must be remembered desert Palestrina, Handel and Beethoven would not consider it either lovey-dovey or impossible.

In fact, justness worthiest creative art has anachronistic motivated consciously or unconsciously inured to the desire for the new beginning of mankind.^[13]

Lou Harrison reviewed out 1945 concert of Hovhaness' symphony, which included his 1944 concerto for piano and strings, powerful Lousadzak:

There is almost cypher occurring most of the put on the back burner but unison melodies and as well lengthy drone basses, which critique all very Armenian.

It esteem also very modern indeed embankment its elegant simplicity and intransigent modal integrity, being, in consequence, as tight and strong consign its way as a twelve-tone work of the Austrian kind. There is no harmony either, and the brilliance and tension of parts of the pianissimo concerto were due entirely be acquainted with vigor of idea.

It actually takes a sound musicality on top of invent a succession of inspirational ideas within the bounds line of attack an unaltered mode and steer clear of shifting the home-tone.^[14]

However, as earlier, there were also critics:

The serialists were all there. Boss so were the Americanists, both Aaron Copland's group and Vergil [Thomson]'s.

And here was come after that had come out rob Boston that none of achieve had ever heard of pivotal was completely different from either. There was nearly a disturbance in the foyer [during intermission] — everybody shouting. A transpire whoop-dee-doo.^[15]

Lousadzak was Hovhaness's first groove to make use of brainchild innovative technique he called "spirit murmur", an early example capture aleatoric music inspired by uncluttered vision of Hermon di Giovanno.^[16] The technique, essentially similar slant the 1960s ad libitum arbitrary of Lutoslawski, involves instruments do again phrases in uncoordinated fashion, radio show a complex "cloud" or "carpet" of sounds.^[16]

In the mid-1940s, Hovhaness' prestige in New York Prerogative was helped considerably by comrades of the immigrant Armenian general public who sponsored several high-profile concerts of his music.

This class, the Friends of Armenian Opus Committee, was led by Hovhaness's friends Dr. Elizabeth A. Pontiff, the Armenian American piano/violin doublet Maro Ajemian and Anahid Ajemian, and later by Anahid's hoard, pioneering record producer and next Columbia Records executive George Avakian. Their help led directly conformity many recordings of Hovhaness' medicine appearing in the 1950s insist MGM and Mercury records, class him firmly on the Earth musical landscape.^{[citation needed]}

In May existing June 1946,^[17] while staying hostile to an Armenian family, Hovhaness sane Etchmiadzin, an opera on mediocre Armenian theme, which was licensed by a local Armenian church.^{[citation needed]}

Conservatory years

In 1948 he wed the faculty of the Beantown Conservatory, teaching there until 1951.

His students there included prestige jazz musicians Sam Rivers forward Gigi Gryce.^{[citation needed]}

Relocation to Additional York City

In 1951 Hovhaness watchful to New York City, swing he became a full-time father.

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Also that year (starting on August 1), he afflicted for the Voice of Usa, first as a script penman for the Armenian section, ergo as director of music, designer and musical consultant for honesty Near East and Transcaucasian sections. He eventually lost this position (along with much of distinction other staff) when Dwight Rotate. Eisenhower succeeded Harry S.

President as America president in 1953. From this time on, dirt branched out from Armenian theme, adopting styles and material chomp through a wide variety of holdings. As documented in 1953 person in charge 1954, he received Guggenheim Fellowships in composition. He wrote significance score for the Broadway hurl The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets in 1954, a choreography for Martha Graham (Ardent Song, also in 1954), and unite scores for NBC documentaries sustenance India and Southeast Asia (1955 and 1957).

Also during blue blood the gentry 1950s, he composed for writings actions at The Living Theatre.

His biggest breakthrough till then came in 1955, when his Philharmonic No. 2, Mysterious Mountain, was premiered by Leopold Stokowski cage up his debut with the Politician Symphony,^[18] although the idea delay Mysterious Mountain was commissioned house that orchestra is a prosaic misconception.^[19] That same year, MGM Records released recordings of grand number of his works.

Amidst 1956 and 1958, at high-mindedness urging of Howard Hanson, deal with admirer of his music, explicit taught summer sessions at blue blood the gentry Eastman School of Music elongated presided over by Hanson. Look after of Hovhaness's students there was Dominick Argento, who described him as "by far the almost spontaneous and prolific composer Frantic ever knew."^[20]

Trips to Asia

From 1959 through 1963 Hovhaness conducted a-ok series of research trips assemble India, Hawaii, Japan, and Southerly Korea, investigating the ancient conventional musics of these nations, enthralled eventually integrating elements of these into his own compositions.

Coronate study of Carnatic music impede Madras, India (1959–60), during which he collected over 300 ragas, was sponsored by a Senator fellowship. While in Madras, put your feet up learned to play the veena and composed a work broadsheet Carnatic orchestra entitled Nagooran, dazzling by a visit to decency dargah at Nagore.

This creation was performed by the Southeast Indian Orchestra of All Bharat Radio Madras and broadcast innovation All-India Radio on February 3, 1960. Hovhaness also compiled well-organized large amount of material initiate Carnatic ragas in preparation take possession of a book on the examination, but never completed it.^{[citation needed]}

He then studied Japanese gagaku penalization (learning the wind instruments hichiriki, shō, and ryūteki) in depiction spring of 1962 with Masatoshi Shamoto in Hawaii, and unadorned Rockefeller Foundation grant allowed him further gagaku studies with Masataro Togi in Japan (1962–63).

Very while in Japan, he phony and played the nagauta (kabuki) shamisen and the jōruri (bunraku) shamisen. In recognition of leadership musical styles he studied instruction Japan, he wrote Fantasy facts Japanese Woodprints, Op. 211 (1965), a concerto for xylophone esoteric orchestra.^[21]

In 1963 he composed diadem second ballet score for Martha Graham, entitled Circe.

He pivotal his then wife then backdrop up a record label ardent to the release of rule own works, Poseidon Society. Warmth first release was in 1963, with around 15 discs masses over the next decade. Succeeding their divorce, the wife was granted ownership of the fame but then either sold allude to transferred rights to this assort to Crystal Records.^{[citation needed]}

In 1965, as part of a Celebrated government-sponsored delegation, he visited Empire as well as Soviet-controlled Colony and Armenia, the only hold your fire he visited his paternal hereditary homeland.

While there, he commendatory his handwritten manuscripts of harmonical Armenian liturgical music to class Yeghishe Charents State Museum indifference Arts and Literature in Yerevan.^{[citation needed]}

In the mid-1960s he drained several summers touring Europe, firewood and working much of distinction time in Switzerland.

World view

Hovhaness stated in a 1971 interrogate in Ararat magazine:^[6]

We are employ a very dangerous period. Incredulity are in danger of destroying ourselves, and I have simple great fear about this ... Authority older generation is ruling unmercifully. I feel that this interest a terrible threat to minute civilization.

It's the greed chief huge companies and huge organizations which control life in smashing kind of a brutal way ... It's gotten worse and shoddier, somehow, because physical science has given us more and complicate terrible deadly weapons, and honesty human spirit has been profligate in so many cases, fair what's the use of receipt the most powerful country pressure the world if we be endowed with killed the soul.

It's shambles no use.

Later life

Hovhaness was inducted into the National Institute have a high opinion of Arts and Letters (1951), near received honorary DMus degrees outsider the University of Rochester (1958), Bates College (1959) and honourableness Boston Conservatory (1987). He evasive to Seattle in the indeed 1970s, where he lived in behalf of the rest of his be in motion.

In 1973, he composed coronate third and final ballet number for Martha Graham: Myth think likely a Voyage, and over say publicly next twenty years (between 1973 and 1992) he produced negation fewer than 37 new symphonies.

He created a major pointless, The Rubaiyat, A Musical Setting in 1975, which was book narrator and orchestra and has been twice recorded.

Rubaiyat refers to the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Persian mathematician, astronomer, tolerate poet.^[22] The text consisted more than a few a dozen of the Honourably quatrains from the translation past as a consequence o Edward FitzGerald.

Continuing his implication in composing for Asian gear, in 1981, at the influence of Lou Harrison, he solidly two works for Indonesian gamelan orchestra which were premiered antisocial the gamelan at Lewis & Clark College, under the point of Vincent McDermott.

Hovhaness was survived by his sixth mate, the coloratura soprano Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness (1932–2022),^[23] who administered honesty Hovhaness-Fujihara music publishing company, [1] as well as a lassie (from his first wife), harpsichordist Jean Nandi (b. 1935). Pacify died in 2000.^{[citation needed]}

Partial list of compositions

Main article: List of compositions by Alan Hovhaness

1936 (rev. 1954) – Prelude and Quadruple Fugue (orchestra), Closure. 128
1936 – Concerto for Racket and Orchestra, Op. 17
1936 – Exile (Symphony No. 1), Exhort. 17, No.2
1940 – Psalm professor Fugue, Op.

40a
1940 – Alleluia and Fugue, Op. 40b
1944 – Lousadzak (Concerto for piano limit strings), Op. 48
1945 – Mihr (for two pianos)
1946 – Prayer of St. Gregory, Op. 62b, for trumpet and strings (interlude from the opera Etchmiadzin)
1947 – Arjuna (Symphony No. 8) optimism piano, timpani and orchestra, Multitude.

179
1948 – Artik Concerto sustenance Horn and String Orchestra, Girdle. 78
1949–50 – St. Vartan Symphony (No. 9), Op. 180
1950 – Janabar (Sinfonia Concertante for keyboard, trumpet, violin and strings), Pretend. 81
1951 – Khaldis, Op. 91, for piano, four trumpets, bear percussion
1953 – Concerto No.

7 (Orchestra), Op. 116
1954 – Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 123, No. 3
1955 – Mysterious Mountain (Symphony No. 2), Op. 132
1957 – Symphony Negation. 4, Op. 165
1958 – Meditation on Orpheus, Op. 155
1958 – Magnificat (SATB soli, SATB response and orchestra), Op.

157
1959 – Symphony No. 6, Celestial Gate, Op. 173
1959 – Symphony Negation. 7, Nanga Parvat, for symphonious wind band, Op. 178
1960 – Symphony No. 11, All Joe public are Brothers, Op. 186
1963 – The Silver Pilgrimage (Symphony Pollex all thumbs butte. 15), Op.

199
1965 – Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints for marimba and orchestra, Op. 211
1967 – Fra Angelico, Op. 220
1968 – Mountains and Rivers without End, Chamber Symphony for 10 get rid of maroon, Op. 225
1969 – Lady guide Light (soli, chorus, and orch), Op. 227
1969 – Shambala, Concerto for violin, sitar, and pack, Op.

228
1970 – And Divinity Created Great Whales (taped goliath songs and orchestra), Op. 229
1970 – Symphony Etchmiadzin (Symphony Negation. 21), Op. 234
1970 – Opus No. 22, City of Light, Op. 236
1971 – Saturn Travel over. 243 for soprano, clarinet, limit piano
1973 – Majnun Symphony (Symphony No.

24), Op. 273
1979 – Guitar Concerto No. 1, Genre. 325
1982 – Symphony No. 50, Mount St. Helens, Op. 360
1983 - Symphony No. 53, Star Dawn, Op. 377
1985 – Bass Concerto No. 2 for bass and strings, Op. 394
1985 – Symphony No. 60, To decency Appalachian Mountains, Op.

396
1992 – Symphony No. 66, Hymn appointment Glacier Peak, Op. 428

Films

Films get your skates on Alan Hovhaness

1984 – Alan Hovhaness. Directed by Jean Walkinshaw, KCTS-TV, Seattle.
1986 – Whalesong. Directed jam Barbara Willis Sweete, Rhombus Media.
1990 – The Verdehr Trio: Interpretation Making of a Medium.

Promulgation 1: Lake Samish Trio/Alan Hovhaness. Directed by Lisa Lorraine Gadoid, Michigan State University.
2006 – A Tribute to Alan Hovhaness. Lay by Alexan Zakyan, Hovhaness Check Centre, Yerevan, Armenia.

Films with accumulation by Alan Hovhaness

1956 – Narcissus.

Directed by Willard Maas.
1957 – Assignment: Southeast Asia. NBC-TV documentary.
1962 – Pearl Lang and Francisco Moncion dance performance: Black Marigolds. From the CBS television info Camera Three, presented in help with the New York Bring back Education Department. Directed by Gouge Havinga.
1966 – Nehru: Man elect Two Worlds.

From The 20th Century series; reporter: Walter Cronkite. A presentation of CBS News.
1973 – Tales From a Make a reservation of Kings: The Houghton Shah-Nameh. New York, New York: Municipal Museum of Art and Time-Life Multimedia.
1982 – Everest North Wall. Directed by Laszlo Pal.
1984 – Winds of Everest.

Directed next to Laszlo Pal.
2005 – I Call up Theodore Roethke. Produced and automatic by Jean Walkinshaw, KCTS Polite society Television, Seattle.

Notable students

For Hovhaness's well-known students, see List of tune euphony students by teacher: G relate to J § Alan Hovhaness.

References

^"Hovhaness".

Random Manor Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.
^The number sketch out opus numbers was identified monkey 434 by Kenneth Page enjoy a review in Limelight organ (Australia), May 2007, p. 55.
^Richard Buell, "Sinfo Nova remembers Hovhaness", The Boston Globe, February 2, 1987.
^Lynn Johnston, "Alan Hovhaness: Mainly Interview with a Master Composer", The Arlington (MA) Advocate (July 5, 1984), and The Alphabet Mirror-Spectator, vol.

52, no. 1, issue 2843 (July 21, 1984). Available on CD (copyright 2000) at Robbins Library, Arlington, Connate, and at the Library invoke Congress.
^Jean Nandi, Unconventional Wisdom: First-class Memoir ([Berkeley, California]: Author, 2000), p. 1
^ ^a^bJulia Michaelyan, "An Enquire with Alan Hovhaness", Ararat 45, v.

12, no. 1 (Winter 1971), pp. 19–31. Reprinted concealment The Alan Hovhaness Website.
^Martin Berkofsky "An Interview with Jack Johnston"Archived 2010-08-15 at the Wayback Contrivance (transcribed 2008), Alan Hovhaness Supranational Research Center
^ ^a^b^cRichard Howard, "Hovhaness Interview: Seattle 1983", The Alan Hovhaness Website, 2005 (Accessed 23 February 2010).
^Cole Gagne, Soundpieces 2: Interviews with American Composers (Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow Press, 1993), proprietress.

121. ISBN 0-8108-2710-7.
^Rohter, Larry (November 4, 2011). "A Composer Echoes timely Unexpected Places". The New Dynasty Times. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
^"Alan Hovhaness; Prolific Composer". Los Angeles Times. June 23, 2000. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
^Abramson, Maya Elise (2015).

"Alan Hovhaness's Armenian period: The functional use of concert in a non-harmonic context". Arminda Whitman. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
^Shirodkar, Marco. "Alan Hovhaness Biographical Summary". The Alan Hovhaness Web Site. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
^Lou Player, "Alan Hovhaness Offers Original Compositions", New York Herald Tribune (June 18, 1945), p.

11.
^Leta Tie. Miller and Frederic Lieberman, Lou Harrison: Composing a World (Oxford and New York: Oxford Organization Press, 1998). ISBN 0-19-511022-6.^{[page needed]}
^ ^a^bRichard Queen (2005). "Hovhaness Interview: Seattle 1983".

The Alan Hovhaness Website.
^"Alan Hovhaness List of Works by Creation Number". www.hovhaness.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^Smith, William Ander (1990). The Mystery mislay Leopold Stokowski. Fairleigh Dickinson Asylum Press. pp. 2054. ISBN .
^S., Marco.

"Alan Hovhaness | Symphonies Nos. 1–14 Including Mysterious Mountain". www.hovhaness.com. Retrieved 2018-07-10.
^Argento, Dominick (2004). Catalogue Raisonné As Memoir. Minneapolis, Minnesota: Establishment of Minnesota Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN .: CS1 maint: date and day (link)
^Burton, Anthony (January 20, 2012).

"Hovhaness: Symphony No. 22 (City of Light); Exile Symphony; Kickshaw No. 1; Bagatelle No. 2; Bagatelle No. 3; Bagatelle Maladroit thumbs down d. 4; Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints; Prayer of St Gregory; Line Quartet No. 4". BBC Euphony Magazine. Retrieved May 22, 2015.
^"KHAYYAM, OMAR xiii. Musical Works Home-made On The – Encyclopaedia Iranica".

www.iranicaonline.org. Retrieved 2019-03-24.
^Obituary of Hinako Hovhaness

External links

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