Harutyun Hanesyan

Hanesyan was born on December 30, 1911, in Istanbul in the Ottoman Empire. He attended Esayan[2] Lyceum and then Robert College. He graduated in 1931.

Alongside his academic pursuits, Hanesyan took lessons in violin and theory from composer Haroutioun Sinanian. At the invitation of the local YMCA, he and his sister, pianist Anahid Hanesyan, presented a joint recital on May 29, 1932, launching a career in music.

In 1944, Hanesyan joined the local symphony formed under the direction of composer Cemal Reşit Rey and remained with the ensemble until his retirement in 1972. During his tenure with the orchestra, he had many opportunities to play chamber music with Edgar Manas, Ekrem Zeki Ün, Lico Amar, Ferdi Statzer and Hüseyin Sadeddin Arel. Many of the public concerts were recorded and later broadcast on the Istanbul Municipal Radio Station.

Following his retirement from the orchestra, Hanesyan established his own chamber orchestra in 1973 and performed many of his compositions in Istanbul and elsewhere. He recorded an LP, featuring some of his instrumental music and vocal compositions sung by soprano Alis Manukyan.

Hanesyan composed some 50 works, most of them published in Istanbul, and some in Paris by Max Eschig.[3] His musical vocabulary is plain, often tonal and centered. The pulse of his music is reminiscent of folk rhythms. They are mostly instrumental—a number of them for viola, the composer’s chosen instrument. The German-Armenian conductor Rolf Agop championed Hanesyan’s works and programmed them in various German cities.

Harutyun Hanesyan died on March 7, 1987. He is buried in the Şişli Armenian Cemetery.