Hrachya Melikyan

Melikyan also composed numerous choir compositions, romances, pieces for different instruments, as well as music to films including The Ingenious Peasant. He was a member of the Union of Composers and Musicologists from 1972 and the Vice President of the Union of Composers and Musicologists of Armenia from 1991 until his untimely death in March 2006.

• Name — Hrachya Melikyan • Birth Name — Hrachya Melikyan • Born — 8 May 1947 • Birthplace — Yerevan, Armenia • Died — 6 March 2006 • Place of death — Yerevan, Armenia • Instrument — Piano, keyboard, Clarinet • Genre — Modern Classical, Soundtrack • Occupation — Composer, Film composer • Years Active — 1968–2006 • Website — http: hrachyamelikyan.com

Hrachya Melikyan was born on May 8, 1947, in Yerevan, Armenia, to an attorney and an accountant. Hrachya, his brother and sisters excelled in their studies at school. As his siblings aspired towards engineering and physics, Hrachya's dream was to study musical. Early on while in elementary school, he bought a guitar with the pocket money he had been saving for some time and began to play. Shortly after, he also began playing the accordion (self-taught). The last years in secondary school he was actively involved with the school's music group, acting as a conductor and playing the accordion. In 1962 his determination brought him to a music school at the age of 15 – being accepted to a music school at this age was unusual - where he started playing the clarinet (class of Lavchyan). He finished school in two years vs. the traditional five, then continued his studies in the Yerevan State Music College where he was enrolled on the clarinet track while also studying composing under the guidance of Professor Emin Aristakesyan. His father was not in favor of his son pursuing a musical career. To please his family, Hrachya was simultaneously preparing for entrance exams to the law faculty of the Yerevan State University. However, one day he came home and announced his acceptance to the Yerevan State Conservatory. In 1967, at the age of 20, he entered the composition department of the Yerevan State Conservatory, class of USSR People's Artist, Professor Edvard Mirzoyan. As Mirzoyan admitted, "I have to confess that he was one of my favorite students during my lengthy teaching career. Working with him was a pleasure for me."

During his student years he took up the study of various woodwind instruments. He mastered playing the piano so well that he performed not only his own pieces but also the compositions of his fellow composers. Arno Babajanyan, a renowned Armenian composer and pianist advised him more than once to seriously consider a career of a pianist, a piece of advice he did not follow. Melikyan was actively composing in his student years already. His Sonata for the Clarinet and Piano won a prize at the 3rd All-Union competition of Young Composers. His works composed during his student years were published by the Conservatory and were performed in Yerevan, Tbilisi, Baku, Kiev and other capitals of the former Soviet republics.

Hrachya Melikyan was an Armenian contemporary composer associated with the generation of the 1960s and 1970s. His artistic style developed through the interaction of Armenian and international musical practices, combining elements of contemporary world music with Armenian national musical traditions. Ghazaros (Lazar) Saryan in his reference letter, dated July 1, 1972, for Melikyan to be accepted as a member of the Union of Composers, wrote "His style is interesting and distinctive/original. He principally avoids accepted means of expression. In his quest for new means of expression and new constructions he has achieved considerable success." In 1972, the young composer was accepted to the Union of Composers and Musicologists of Armenia. In 1991, Melikyan became the Responsible Secretary of the Union and served in that position until his death in March 2006. In 1995 he established "Archesh" publishing house at the Union of Composers. From the time he took up an administrative position in the Union until his last days he played a significant role in promoting his fellow composers' compositions through organizing concerts and publishing their works.

• Alien Blood or End of Absurdity (libretto by Marina Toumas), 1989–1991

• Samson, 1983–1984

• Bells, 1985–1986, (themes from folk and patriotic songs)

• Enigma, symphonic poem, 1997 • Monument to the Hero, lyrics by Armenian poets who lost their lives at the Great Patriotic War (1941–1945), 1985 • Ode of Love, a symphonic poem for a dramatic soprano with the orchestra, 1971 • Maddened Crowds, lyrics by Yeghishe Charents, Yerevan, 1969

• In Memoriam Concerto-Epitaph for cello and orchestra, dedicated to the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, 2005 • Concerto-Dedication for piano and orchestra, dedicated to the centennial of Aram Khachatryan, 2003 • Lord the Savior, by words of prophet Isaia, a concerto for ensemble of soloists dedicated to the 1700 th anniversary of adoption of Christianity in Armenia (piccolo, flute, clarinet (in B), 2 horn (F), 2 trumpet (B), trombone, tuba, percussion, piano, solo soprano and choir), 2001 • #2 for 8 performers, Voice of the Crying in the Desert for oboe, two clarinets (A, B), two trombones, and piano, 1995, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide • #1 for 8 performers, 1974 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1983) for cello with chamber orchestra #2, 1995 for bassoon with chamber orchestra, 1990 • Concerto-Song for cello with chamber orchestra #1, dedicated to Medea Abrahamyan, 1989 • Concerto-Dreams for violin with chamber orchestra, 1987, 2004 (2nd edition) • Concerto-Pastorale for piano and chamber orchestra, 1985

• 6 Miniatures for Brass (2 trumpet (B), 2 horn (F), trombone and tuba), 2002

• #1 for flute, oboe, clarinet (B), bassoon and horn (F), 1990 • Deserted Cell for three flutes, cello and piano, 1988

• String Quartet #5, dedicated to the memory of Ghazaros Saryan, 2005 • String Quartet #4, 1996 • String Quartet #3, 1990 • String Quartet #2, 1972 • String Quartet #1, 1969 (published by Sovetakan Grogh, Yerevan, 1983)

• #1, 1974 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1978) • #2, 1972

• #3 for violin, viola and cello (with vibraphone in part 4), 1990 • #2 for violin, cello and piano, dedicated to the memory of Arno Babajanyan, 1989 • #1 for clarinet, violin and piano, dedicated to the memory of D. D. Shostakovich, 1980 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1984)

• for violin and piano #2, 1992 • for bassoon and piano, 1987 • for violin and piano #1, 1982 (published in Yerevan, 1983) • for flute and piano, 1979 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1981) • #2 for piano, 1978 (published in Yerevan, 1989) • for oboe and piano, 1972 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1975) • #1 for piano, 1968 (published in Yerevan, 1984) • for clarinet and piano, 1968 (published by Soviet Composer, 1976) • for viola and piano, 1968 (published in Yerevan, 1974)

• Three Virtuoso Sonatinas for Piano, 1983 (published in Yerevan, 1984) • for clarinet and piano, 1983 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1985)

• 4 preludes for violin ensemble, 1986 • Twelve pieces for cello and piano, 1985 (published in Yerevan, 2000) • Grace, twelve etudes-miniatures for bassoon solo," 1976 (published by Soviet Composer, Moscow, 1982) • In the World of Fairy Tales twenty-four piano pieces, 1971–1971 (published in Yerevan, 1976)

• Orchestra Went Along the Street, short (1976) • Blue Lion (1979) • Visit, short (1979) • Day, Awaited so Long, short (1980) • Snowdrops and Edelweiss (1981) • We Shall Meet Again (1984) • The Ingenious Peasant, animation (1984) Above listed are compositions that represent the composer’s works. Melikyan also composed numerous choir compositions, romances, pieces for different instruments...