ArmenPress
May 5 2004
AVET TERTERIAN FESTIVAL SLATED FOR AUTUMN
YEREVAN, MAY 5, ARMENPRESS: The Union of Armenian Composers will
hold a festival in autumn dedicated to the 75-anniversary of great
composer Avet Terterian. The chairman of the Union, Robert
Amirkhanian, told Armenpress the festival will bring to Yerevan
prominent performers, critics and composers from many countries.
Considered by many as one of the most progressive and original
composers of the end of the 20th century who introduced new and
revolutionary ways in the development of modern symphony. Terterian
is the author of eight symphonies (the ninth was left incomplete),
two operas “Ring of Fire” and “The Earthquake”, ballet “Richard the
3rd”, vocal-symphonic cycle, and many chamber works. His symphonic
works are often performed in the European musical centers and his
opera “The Earthquake” received its world premiere in Munich in 2003
with an unprecedented public reception and wide ranging critical
acclaim.
Avet Terterian was awarded by German Az-Abendzeitung newspaper the
title of Star of the Year for his opera “The Earthquake.”
Terterian’s creativity is rooted in the ancient traditions of
Armenian music. Melodic flourishes are present, but are used as sound
gestures contrasting with passages rich in tone color. The point of
departure of Terterian’s style is often a single tone held out over
long stretches of time.
Terterian was born in Baku, Azerbaijan in 1929 and died in 1994 in
Yekaterinburg, Russia.