Alan Hovhaness Biography

Alan Hovhaness, Composer

Born as	Alan Vaness Chakmakjian
Occup.	Composer
From	USA
Spouse	Mildred Edgerton Fierce
Born	March 8, 1911 Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Died	June 21, 2000 Seattle, Washington, USA
Cause	Natural causes
Aged	89 years

Early Life and also Education
Alan Hovhaness, born as Alan Vaness Chakmakjian, was born on March 8, 1911, in Somerville, Massachusetts, United States. He was the boy of an Armenian papa, Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian, and also a Scottish-American mother, Madeleine Scott. His papa was a chemistry professor at Tufts College, while his mom functioned as a nurse.

Hovhaness showed an early rate of interest in songs as well as began to make up at the age of 6. While still a young adult, he started making up chamber orchestra and examining composition with numerous prominent teachers, consisting of Frederick Converse and Leo Rich Lewis at the New England Conservatory of Music. He likewise studied counterpoint and consistency independently with Heinrich Gebhard.

Occupation and also Musical Style
As a composer, Alan Hovhaness is recognized for his prolific output and also special mix of diverse cultural impacts. Over his occupation, he composed over 500 works, including 67 harmonies, chamber songs, choral items, as well as ballets. His music usually mixed Western classical designs with methods and structures inspired by Eastern, Middle Eastern, and also Armenian songs.

In the onset of his job, Hovhaness focused on Armenian-themed jobs, such as "Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints" and "Arjuna Symphony". His make-ups throughout this duration were focused around including special balanced patterns, dissonant harmonies, and unusual instruments.

In 1943, Hovhaness relocated to New York City to seek his profession even more. There, he was presented to Lou Harrison, who was prominent in presenting Hovhaness to a larger variety of Eastern influences, particularly Javanese and also Balinese gamelan songs. This partnership resulted in Hovhaness's experimentation with modal scales, free-phase frameworks, and also mixes of Western and Eastern instruments in his compositions.

Throughout his career, Hovhaness dealt with many orchestras and also ensembles, including the American Composers Orchestra, Seattle Symphony, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Lutoslawski Philharmonic.

Significant Works and also Achievements
A few of Hovhaness's most significant works include the harmonies "Mysterious Mountain" (Symphony No. 2, 1955) as well as "St. Vartan" (Symphony No. 9, 1949-50), along with chamber music works such as the string music collection "Lousadzak" (1944) and the orchestral item "And God Created Great Whales" (1970).

Hovhaness got countless honors and also honors for his contributions to music, consisting of the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, a Fulbright scholarship, a National Endowment for the Arts give, and honorary doctorates from several universities, including the New England Conservatory of Music.

Personal Life and also Death
Alan Hovhaness was married 3 times throughout his life. He wed his very first partner, Martha Mott Davis, in 1933, yet they separated shortly after. His 2nd marriage was to the Japanese treble Sato Moughalian in 1945, but the couple likewise divorced. In 1963, Hovhaness married his third spouse, the coloratura treble Hinako Fujihara, and they stayed together up until his fatality.

Hovhaness passed away on June 21, 2000, in Seattle, Washington, at the age of 89. He left an enduring legacy as a substantial composer of the 20th century who added to the assimilation of varied cultural aspects in classical music, in addition to a remarkable repertoire of make-ups that continue to be carried out as well as appreciated today.

Our collection contains 12 quotes who is written / told by Alan.

Related authors: Lou Harrison (Composer), Lawrence Taylor (Athlete), Adele (Musician)

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12 Famous quotes by Alan Hovhaness

"I did all kinds of things in order to earn a living"

"I found a greater identity with my own emotions in the Armenian culture as I grew older, as well as from the beginning, although I didn't know anything about it"

"This is not to say that the Scots are not fine people, but they were all sort of... well, my grandfather was a minister and sort of Protestant, and this was rather depressing to me"

"There is nothing like practice"

"There were periods when I sometimes made fires in a large, open fireplace that lasted about two weeks, which was how long it took to burn my compositions. So there has been an awful lot that I have destroyed"

"I've always regarded nature as the clothing of God"

"No, no, I didn't know him. He lost his mind around 1917 because of the tragedy of the Armenians"

"I was born in Somerville, but I don't remember very much about it because we moved from there to Arlington when I was five years old, and it was in Arlington that I spent most of my childhood"

"My mother's background was Scottish. She came from an old family, some of whom lived in upper New York State and some of whom had come over from Scotland"

"I was much more interested in the orchestra than the piano, but I did become fairly proficient as a pianist and my teachers felt I had talent and wanted me to become a good concert pianist and earn my living that way"

"I think that of my 21 symphonies, each has its own place"

"It's hard for me to think of others because I'm not particularly in sympathy with the music of this century"