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    Categories: 2018

Monaco Prince cuts short his tour to meet with Aram Khachaturyan: Renowned composer’s meetings with Royal families

Armenpress News Agency , Armenia
February 7, 2018 Wednesday


Monaco Prince cuts short his tour to meet with Aram Khachaturyan:
Renowned composer's meetings with Royal families



YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 7, ARMENPRESS. During his tours renowned Armenian
composer Aram Khachaturyan met with the leaders of countries, received
interesting offers, as well as valuable gifts from them.

ARMENPRESS this time presents the composer’s meetings with the Royal families.

The composer was on tour in Belgium in 1960. Queen Elizabeth was
unable to attend his concert due to health problems, but after the
concert people approached Khachaturyan and conveyed the Queen’s
invitation to meet. Accepting the invitation with pleasure, the next
day the renowned composer and his wife were hosted at the Queen’s
Palace. “They had a very warm and interesting meeting. The Queen
Elizabeth had a great contribution in the art world the evidence of
which is the international contest named after her. She also played
violin and has been taught by renowned violinist Eugène Ysaÿe. This is
the reason that the Armenian composer and the Queen talked about the
art, the innovations in the music art, the composer’s creative path
and the Brussels Symphonic Orchestra. They have also talked about
people they know among whom were world-renowned musicians”, director
of the Aram Khachaturyan House-Museum Armine Grigoryan said.

The Queen also had a little knowledge of Russian the evidence of which
is her note written on a photograph. The photos of this meeting are
still kept in the Museum.

In 1973 the composer was invited to France where his 70th anniversary
was celebrated with a great event. During this tour he decided to
visit Monaco. During this period the Monaco Prince and his wife,
world-renowned star Grace Kelly, were outside the country, but being
informed about the composer’s visit, they returned from London cutting
short their tour and immediately arrived in the house where
Khachaturyan stopped. The Prince as well was very fond of art and he
organized different contests and festivals in his country every two
years dedicated to the composer art. In 1974 he not only invited the
composer to the contest-festival, but also asked to write a new work
to be performed at the opening ceremony of the festival.

Again on a concert tour in Iran in 1965, the Persian Shah showed his
sympathy to the composer by providing one of his personal vehicles to
the composer for touring the country. The Persian Shah and his wife
also attended Khachaturyan’s concert during which the Second Symphony
was performed. Usually, after the completion of the concert the Shah
left the concert hall, but this case differed from the remaining ones.
The Shah and his wife applauded the maestro as a result of which he
again performed his works.

Then the Shah and his wife went to the backstage to meet with the
renowned composer the evidence of which is the photo still maintained.
The Persian Shah handed over many gifts to the composer, among which
was quite a valuable Persian blue carpet. Khachatruyan brought it to
Moscow to decorate his apartment.

In 1961 during the trip in Egypt, President Gamal Abdel Nasserwelcomed
him at the airport. The Egyptian President also attended the
composer’s concert. He handed over one of the highest certificates of
the country to Aram Khachaturyan for the great contribution in the
field of art. During the same tour Khachaturyan also met with
President of Yugoslavia Josip Broz Tito.

Anna Grigoryan

Photo – courtesy of Aram Khachaturyan House Museum

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