Hrachya Melikyan

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.

A talented exponent of the Armenian contemporary composition school, Hrachya Melikyan with his new artistic vision and distinctive musical style belongs to the generation of 1960–1970s. Melikyan's artistic vision was formed during the complex interactive processes of Armenian and international musical practices, as he synthesized world music developments and national music particularities, forging his own distinctive musical style.

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"[1][2] 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.

The first compositions that brought him recognition were String Quartet #1 and the sonata for clarinet and piano – both written during his years as a student. The latter won the III prize in the contest of young Soviet composers, held in Moscow in 1969.

Shortly after 1969, the chamber genre became the core of his compositions. The composer's wish to get out of the limits of the traditional chamber genre was obvious. It is enough to attentively look through the list of compositions to see beside the traditional string quartets, quartets for woodwinds (1972, 1974), trios of non-traditional composition for clarinet, violin and piano (1980), for violin, viola and cello, with vibraphone in part four (1990). The composition of two quintets is also noteworthy – three flutes, cello and piano (1984), flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn (1988), etc. In the 1990s Melikyan composed an octet for oboe, two clarinets (A, B), two trombones, and piano. The variety of compositions of the composer is indicative of his special interest to bring to light the different tones of instrumental timbres that complement one another.

In compositions for piano, string instruments and woodwinds, the composer singles out the woodwinds. In this context, Hrachya Melikyan's place among the Armenian composers is exceptional not only by the quantity of compositions for woodwind instruments, but also by the variety of timbral characters. And the fact that the clarinet was the first musical instrument he played, which opened the music world to him, played a significant role.

The composer's interest was not limited by genres of chamber music – concerto, quintet, quartet, trio, sonata, sonatina, pieces, etc. The opera "Alien Blood or End of Absurdity" (1989–1991) was composed by the commission of the opera house in Łódź, Poland. However, due to social and political situation at the time it was not performed and has still not been performed. The Oratorio Bells (1986), lyrics by Armenian poets, who died during the Great Patriotic War, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War (won prizes in Republic contests), "Maddened Crowds" (1969), lyrics by Eghishe Charents, are inspired with patriotic motives.

Among his compositions are also dedications, including trios dedicated to Dmitri Shostakovich, Arno Babajanyan. Twelve elegiac duets for cello and piano dedicated to John Asatrian. Without direct reference to the particular style of the composer, Hrachya Melikyan recreates the atmosphere characteristic of the dedicatee.

Melikyan also composed music for 8 Armenian films: Orchestra Went Along the Street, short (1976), Blue Lion (1979), Visit, short (1979), Day, Awaited so Long, short (1980), Snowdrops and Edelweiss (1981),[3] We Shall Meet Again (1984), The Ingenious Peasant, animation (1984).

A few days before he died, the composer left for Dilijan, the Composer's Resort House, where he stayed for five days, working day and night on his last piece – String Quartet #5 dedicated to the memory of Ghazaros Saryan, paying tribute to the renowned Armenian composer and one of the great teachers of the younger generation of composers. The Quartet was performed shortly after his death, a beautiful piece, but unlike most of his works, very peaceful, a sort of farewell to life.

One day before his departure from life, he signed a contract for publication of his Twelve Pieces for Cello and Piano and the String Quartet with Editions Bim,[4] a Swiss Publishing Company. The works were published in Switzerland in 2010.

In 2005 Melikyan became the Laureate of the State Prize, a biannual prestigious prize awarded by the President of Armenia to prominent people representing Armenian culture (only one person gets the award in each respective area – music, art, literature, theater and cinematography). The Prize was awarded for three concertos – 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; and Concerto-Dreams for violin with chamber orchestra, 1987, 2004 (2nd edition).

In 1995, Melikyan became a laureate of the prize of the "Best Cello Concerto" contest, sponsored by "HOVARTZ" (USA) and the Union of Composers and Musicologists of Armenia.

In 1969, the composer became a laureate of the prize of the young composers of the Soviet Union, since then he was repeatedly a laureate of different Republic contests.

• Official website
• Hrachya Melikyan at IMDb
• Armenian Cinema
• Classical Archives