Compose Tigran Mansurian is celebrating the 82nd birthday today.

Born in Lebanon in 1939, Tigran Mansurian moved with his family back to ancestral Armenia in 1947 and studied at the Yerevan Conservatory, of which he would later become director.

Mansurian’s compositions are an interesting mixture of Armenian art music and folk traditions, with bright, expressive melodies and exquisite, impressionistic tone color. His works may be grouped into five categories:

Mansurian is recognized as one of the forerunners of contemporary music in the former USSR, being the first to introduce modern composition techniques in Armenia.

His compositions have been performed to great acclaim in London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Moscow, Warsaw, Zagreb, New York, Los Angeles, and other musical capitals of the world.

Mansurian’s works can be grouped into five categories: instrumental chamber music (concertos, sonatas, etc., for piano, strings, and horns), vocal music (both choral and solo), symphonic music (for both full-scale orchestras and chamber orchestras), program music (for motion pictures and stage plays), and ballet.