Boris Parsadanian facts for kids

Boris Khristoforovich Parsadanian (born May 14, 1925 – died May 14, 1997) was a talented composer, violinist, and music leader. He was from both Armenia and Estonia, which were part of the Soviet Union during his life.

Who Was Boris Parsadanian?

Boris Parsadanian was born in Kislovodsk, Russia, in 1925. He started learning music in Ashgabat, where he studied the violin with Anton Gerbler. Later, he moved to Moscow. There, he joined the Armenian House of Culture. He continued his music studies with Genrikh Litinsky.

His studies stopped when World War II began. Boris served in the military during this time. He even received awards for his brave service.

Studying Music After the War

After the war, Boris went to the Gnessin Institute. He studied both composing music and playing the violin. He continued learning from Litinsky. He also started studying how to arrange music for an orchestra (called orchestration) with Nikolai Timofeyev.

Boris was well-liked by his classmates because he was a good player and had a great personality. However, some teachers were not happy at first. He often played parts of Aram Khachaturian's famous Violin Concerto all the time! Boris finished his studies in 1950.

Early Success and Influences

His first successful piece was his Piano Trio. It was played for the first time at a student concert. A fellow student, Yevgeny Svetlanov, played the piano part. After this, Boris wrote a tone poem called David of Sassoun. This music was based on a brave hero from an old Armenian story.

Later, Boris was inspired by the famous composer Dmitri Shostakovich. Shostakovich even encouraged Boris to keep composing music.

Moving to Estonia

In 1953, Boris married Virve Kiple. He then moved to Estonia, where she was born. Boris joined the Tallinn Conservatory. There, he studied with Heino Eller.

During this time, Boris played the violin in the Estonian SSR State Symphony Orchestra. He also became a member of the Estonian Composers' Union. He graduated from the Tallinn Conservatory in 1959.

A Growing Composer

Boris returned to Moscow and became the main violinist (concertmaster) of the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra. He also started to become well-known as a composer. Many famous musicians supported his music. These included Svetlanov, Alexander Gauk, Tatiana Grindenko, Roman Matsov, Neeme Järvi, Eri Klas, and the Borodin Quartet.

Svetlanov once said that Boris's music was very close to the style of the great Armenian composer Komitas. From 1968 to 1970, Boris also worked on music programs for Soviet television.

In 1970, Boris moved back to Estonia for good. He became the director of the Estonian SSR State Philharmonic. He received special awards for his work in the arts. He was named Honored Worker of the Arts of the Estonian SSR in 1967 and People's Artist of the Estonian SSR in 1988.

His Compositions

Boris Parsadanian wrote many pieces of music. He composed eleven symphonies between 1958 and 1987. His Symphony No. 2 was dedicated to the artist Martiros Saryan, who had drawn a picture of Boris.

He also wrote a violin concerto in 1955. Other works include a wind quintet (1967), a string quartet (1974), and a violin sonata (1986).

Interestingly, Dmitri Shostakovich gave Boris the original handwritten music for his piece Intervision. This special manuscript is now kept in the Juilliard Manuscript Collection.