Stepan Shakaryan facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Stepan Shakaryan
Born	(1935-10-23)23 October 1935 Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Died	22 June 2019(2019-06-22) (aged 83) Yerevan, Armenia
Citizenship	Armenia
Alma mater	Gnessin Musical Institute, Yerevan State Conservatory
Era	20th-century classical music
Awards	People's Artist of Armenia (2017)

Stepan Grigori Shakaryan (Armenian: Ստեփան Շաքարյան) was a very talented Armenian musician. He was born on October 23, 1935, and passed away on June 22, 2019. Stepan was a great jazz and classical composer, and he played the piano wonderfully. He was also a professor at the Yerevan State Conservatory. In 2017, he received a very special award called "People's Artist of Armenia."

Stepan Shakaryan's Amazing Life

Stepan Shakaryan was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 23, 1935. When he was 17, in 1952, he moved to Yerevan, Armenia. Just two years later, in 1954, Stepan started studying at the Yerevan Komitas State Conservatory.

In 1956, Stepan met a famous Soviet Armenian composer named Aram Khachaturian. This meeting helped him transfer to the Moscow Gnesin Institute. Later, he finished his studies at the Leningrad Conservatory.

Stepan returned to Yerevan in 1964. The very next year, in 1965, he won a Gold medal at the Yerevan Jazz Festival! He also composed music for films. He wrote music for "Hakob Hovnatanyan" (1967) by Sergei Parajanov and for an Armenian cartoon called "Pingvinashen."

From 1986 to 1990, Stepan Shakaryan was the leader of the Soloists Jazz Ensemble of the Radio Committee. He also founded this group. Starting in 1992, he began teaching at the Yerevan State Conservatory, sharing his musical knowledge with new students. In 2009, one of his music CDs, "The Moon on the Mountain," was included in a special collection called "Armenian Jazz 70."

What Music Did He Create?

Stepan Shakaryan wrote many different kinds of music. Here are some of his most important works:

Music for a Full Orchestra

These are big pieces written for a large group of musicians.

• Symphony N° 1 (also called "Concert for orchestra," written in 1961)
• Symphony N° 2 (a "choreographic symphony," meaning it was for dance, written in 1965)
• Symphony N° 3 (1975)
• "Festival overture" (1995)
• Symphonic orchestra piece called "Armenia" (1991)
• "Aria" (1982)

Music for Small Groups

These pieces are for a few instruments, often played in a smaller room.

• Theme and Variations for viola and piano (1959)
• "Poem about Komitas" for a string quartet (a group of four string instruments, 1965)
• 4 "aquarelles" (like watercolor paintings, but in music) for a string ensemble (1987)
• Sonata for piano (1963)
• Sonata for piano called "Bells" (1982)
• Sonatina for piano (a smaller sonata, 1963)
• Series "Pittoresks" for piano (1983)

Music for Dance

Stepan also composed music specifically for ballets and other dance performances.

• Ballet "Jealous" (first performed in 1965, then again in Yerevan in 1992)
• "Aghavnavank" (which means "Monastery of doves," 1990)
• "Ripsime" (1998)
• Piece for variety ensemble and jazz

Other Musical Works

• "Trio-retro" (for piano, violin, and cello)
• Trio N° 1 (1993)
• Trio N° 2