K is for Khachaturian

Aram Khachaturian

I like him so much I even learned how to spell his name without having to look it up. I was seriously tempted to put down Yoko Kanno just to break the norm, but she isn't really a classical composer. One of the most versatile composers around today and without a doubt one of my favorites, but not for this list.

Khachaturian is another Soviet composer. I would say he's generally considered #3 after Shostakovich and Prokofiev (Stravinsky, though Russian, is rarely included in the Soviets list since he left so early in his career and didn't look back). I'd agree, but it's really too bad for Khachaturian. I suppose a more productive thing to do would be to figure out what sets Khachaturian apart rather than just rank him and leave him.

While he doesn't have the power of Shostakovich or the wit of Prokofiev, Khachaturian is more than their match in the lyricism department. He takes more from the books of Mussorgsky and Borodin than from Rimsky-Korsakov. When I listen to Khachaturian I feel like I'm listening to amped up folk music rather than formalized classical structures. I suppose there's some merit to this opinion. Soviet officials wanted folksy, uplifting, popular music for the people and free of the music for music's sake influence that was becoming more the norm in western culture. That composers can avoid classical trends that date back to Beethoven and beyond is a ridiculous concept and made for one of the finest lines anyone ever had to try to tow. Khachaturian actually liked communism and was actively writing nationalistic, pro-state kinds of pieces and still got in pretty big trouble for not being "popular enough" or somesuch nonesense. Who knows what the leadership were interested in. Probably not the music.

Khachaturian had a productive career. Most of his music was written for large orchestras. A few solo piano pieces, some chamber music, and some ballets and other theater music. Of course most of his music is overshadowed by the Sabre Dance from his ballet, "Gayaneh". The Sabre Dance is one of those career making pieces in my opinion. Even if he had composed nothing else, he still might have made the list just for Sabre Dance. It's fun, distinctive, and interesting. It's fame is well deserved. There are plenty of "real" recordings and videos. Here's one that's a bit dated, but still quite a bit of fun.



Another fun piece is his music for the play "Masquerade", usually collected in a suite of 5 shorts or so. It has a nice folksy flavor, plenty of lyricism, and shows a real skill for theatricality that has certainly helped some modern day composers (I'm looking at you Danny).



And speaking of music for films, here is a piano transcription from "Spartacus", one of Khachaturian's ballets. It was used for the Coen Bros. film "Hudsucker Proxy" and is quite beautiful. Listen for those thick proto-John Williams-ey chord voicings. Gotta love it.