Alexander Spendiaryan Memorial Museum


	Afanasi Spendiarov /composer’s father/


	Natalia Spendiarova – Selinova /composer’s mother/


	Varvara Spendiarova – Mazirova /composer’s wife/


	Spendiaryan with his children


	Armenian first symphonic orchestra /1926/


	Spendiaryan with Armenian scholars /1910/

Alexander Spendiaryan
/1871-1928/

Composer, conductor, pedagogue, public figure and the founder of Armenian classic music, Alexander Afanasev Spendiaryan was born in Kakhovka town, Dnepr province, state Tavris /nowdays Herson’s region, Ukraine/. His forefathers came from Armenian ancient capital Ani. The composer’s childhood and youth passed in Simferopol. His creative abilities towards music, painting and poetry were obvious since he was a child. He bagan taking piano lessons at the age of 9 and took violin lessons at the age of 14.


Spendiaryan’s monuscript

From 1882-1890 he got secondary education at the classic gymnasium of Simferopol. From 1890-1895 he studied in Moscow State University. For one year he studied in the faculty of Natural Sciences then moved to the Faculty of Law. He played in a student band as a first violin. In the meantime he continued taking violin lessons with the artist of Bolshoi Theatr Pekarski and the composition theory studies with Russian composer and ethnographer N. S. Klenovski. From 1896-1900 he took private composition lessons with Russian composer N. Rimsky – Korsakov.


	Spendiaryan’s Yerevan passport

Starting from 1901-1917 Spendiaryan moved to Crimea and was actively engaged in various creative, conductive, cultural and social activities. It was during this period that the composer established friendly relationsips with Tchekhov, Gorki, Repin, Rakhmaninov, Shaliaplin, Kuprin, Glazunov, Liadov, Kyui, Arenski, Bluminfeld, Zbrueva who were often entertained in Spendiaryan’s detached house in Yalta.

In 1924, on the invitation of the Armenian authorities Spendiaryan moved to Armenia initiating the extensive activities to develop the musical culture. It was due to his efforts that the first orchestra class was founded and the first symphonic orchestra was organized in Yerevan Conservatory. Its first concert was conducted by Alexander Spendiaryan.

In 1926 the composer was entitled as Armenian national artist and the first professor of Yerevan Conservatory.

Alexander Spendiaryan died from pneumonia on May 7, 1928 in Yerevan.

The Armenian State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, Yerevan's first musical school and one of Yerevan's central streets have been named after him.

Composer’s creative inheritance is of various genres: opera “Almast” (according to Hovh. Tumanyan's novel “The occupy of Tmkaberd”), symphonic works: “Yerevanian Etudes” in 1925, “The Crimean Sketches” from 1903-1912, “Three Palms” symphonic poem (according to V. Lermontov) in 1905, “Etude of Jewish themes”, “Concert prelude” in 1900, “Concert waltz”, instrumental works, “Cantabile”, “Prelude” for string quartet, “Waltz”, “Barcarolla”, “Menuet”, “Scherzo”, romances and vocal instrumental works.

Spendiaryan was awarded with a prize named after Glinka for his three works: the symphonic picture “Tree palms” in 1908, the legend “Preacher Beda" in 1910 and the melody declamation “We’ll have a rest” in 1912.

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