Sergey Barkhudaryan

Sergey Vasilyevich Barkhudaryan was a Georgian Soviet composer and teacher. He was born on September 7, 1887, in Tiflis, and died on October 29, 1973, in Tbilisi.

In 1907 he graduated from the music school in Tbilisi, where he studied theory and solfeggio in the class of Zakaria Paliashvili. From 1907 to 1909 he studied piano at the Berlin Royal Conservatory in the class of I. Schulze. In 1915 he graduated from the Petrograd Conservatory, where he studied composition with Jazeps Vitols, harmony, counterpoint, and fugue with Vasily Kalafati, and instrumentation with Maximilian Steinberg.

From 1923 to 1954 Barkhudaryan taught theoretical subjects and composition at the Tbilisi Conservatory. At the same time, from 1934 to 1937, he also worked at the Yerevan Conservatory. His long teaching career linked him closely with musical education in both Tbilisi and Yerevan.

Among his works are the ballet Keri Kuchi, based on Hovhannes Tumanyan, completed in 1945; three suites from the ballet Narine, from 1957 and 1961; the suite Zak Federation from 1932; and Anush, based on the poem of the same name by Hovhannes Tumanyan, from 1917. He also wrote Eastern Dances (1913), Children's Album (1959), romances for voice and piano on texts by Avetik Isahakyan, and music for stage productions and films.

Barkhudaryan also wrote the popular song "Girl of the Mountains" (Armenian: "Sari aghjik"), from 1932. He was recognized as an Honored Artist of the Georgian SSR in 1936 and was named People's Artist of the Armenian SSR in 1960.