Alexander Arutiunian

Arutyunyan studied at the Erevan Conservatory and later at the House of Armenian Culture in Moscow. He served as artistic director of The Armenian PO and taught composition at Erevan Conservatory. In 1970 he was named a People's Artist of the USSR. His compositions are lyrical and draw from the folksongs of his country. His early work was in a style similar to that of Khachaturian. In the early 1960s he turned to more classical forms that were more clearly tonal and pure in style. ~ Lynn Vought