ON THE OCCASION OF AVET TERTERIAN’S 80TH BIRTHDAY ANNIVERSARY BY HAROUTIUN KHACHATRIAN

Noyan Tapan
July 29, 2009

YEREVAN, JULY 29, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. The 80th birthday
of the Armenian composer Avet Terterian is celebrated on July 29.

Now that we have the opportunity to give at least a preliminary
assessment of the previous century from the height of the 21st century,
we can, without making a serious mistake, assert the following: out
of numerous Armenian composers who grew on the national music basis
created by the great Komitas, we have had two titans: Aram Khachatrian
and Avet Terterian. Both were born outside Armenia – in Tbilisi and
Baku, respectively. Khachatrian who was born in 1904 was a composer
of the first half of the 20th century, while Terterian (born in 1929)
emerged in the 1960s as if to take the baton from Khachatrian.

Khachatrian’s fate evolved in such a way that his fame ensured the
whole prestige of the Soviet Union: he was considered one of the three
most famous Soviet composers of his time (along with Sergey Prokofyev
and Dmirty Shostakovich). In case of Terterian, the situation was a
bit different.

True, we cannot maintain that the Soviet state ignored him, but due to
the dictates of the time Terterian did not attain the fame he deserved,
especially as he, most likely, surpassed the brilliant Khachatrian in
talent (this is the personal opinion of the article’s author, and of
course, not everybody will subscribe to it). So the responsibility
to present Avet Terterian in the due manner to the world lies with
the Republic of Armenia.

Among the most significant works of Terterian are his eight symphonies,
two ballets and the opera "Earthquake". This article does not pretend
to any analysis of music, but it must be noted that the composer’s
powerful, exceptionally profound, apparently inexhaustible in their
contents, and hence deeply Armenian works stand out against the
background of contemporary music. His music seems somewhat hard to
listen to (in general, is great music easy to listen to?), but only
at first sight. The success of the opera "Earthquake" staged at the
Spendiarian Opera Theatre last year bears evidence of it.

There is every reason to say that today Avet Terterian is the Armenian
composer whose works are most frequently performed abroad, which is
also evident from the data at site. This is what
the outstanding talent of the late composer has brought to (he died
in 1994 and was buried in Yerevan). But how do we, the residents of
Armenia, estimate Avet Terterian?

Now we have to present some worrying facts. In Yerevan, you cannot
find any place linked to Terterian’s name. There is not any monument,
plaque, museum, or concert hall. The easiest thing – naming a Yerevan
street after Avet Terterian was not done, although this issue has
been raised at the Yerevan municipality. Even the 80th birthday
anniversary of the composer has not been included in the list of
this year’s jubilees to be marked by the Ministry of Culture and
therefore it is not celebrated at a state level. The above-mentioned
website was developed and is maintained by Germans
and not Armenians. This is the way we treat our great wealth.

Meanwhile, there are people who dream that for example, one day an
international symphonic music festival after Terterian would be held
in Yerevan. To see it, is it necessary to wait for the next "round"
jubilee?

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress