Today is Arno Babajanyan's birthday

Arno Babajanyan was born in Yerevan, Soviet Armenia. His father Harutyun Babajanian was from Igdir. By age 5, his extraordinary musical talent was clearly apparent, and the composer Aram Khachaturian suggested that the boy be given proper music training.

Two years later, in 1928 at the age of 7, Babajanian entered the Yerevan State Musical Conservatory. In 1938, he continued his studies in Moscow with Vissarion Shebalin. He later returned to Yerevan, where from 1950–1956 he taught at the conservatory. It was during this period (1952) that he wrote the Piano Trio in f# sharp minor. It received immediate acclaim and was regarded as a masterpiece from the time of its premiere. Subsequently, he undertook concert tours throughout the Soviet Union and Europe. In 1971, he was named a People’s Artist of the Soviet Union.

In 1928 he was admitted to the group of gifted children at the Yerevan Conservatory. At the age of 9, Babajanian wrote his first composition, 'Pioneer's March'. He was very good at sight-reading and had a remarkable memory. His piano playing at the young age was already marked by unusual power of expression and technical finesse. At the age of 12, Arno Babajanian became the winner of the First Prize at the Armenian Republic National Competition of the Young Musicians. There Babajanian performed the piano sonata No. 4, by Ludwig van Beethoven and 'Rhondo Capriccioso' by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy.

Babajanian continued his music studies under the tutelage of the notable Armenian composer Sergei S. Barkhudaryan (Barkhudarov) from 1936-38. In 1938 Babajanian moved to Moscow and was admitted to the graduate level at the Gnesin School of Music, where he studied piano with Yelena Gnesina and composition with Vissarion Shebalin. His talent was noticed by many intellectuals in Moscow.

He continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory. There he studied piano under the famous concert pianist Konstantin Igumnov, who guided Babajanian through the wisdom of the 'Well Tempered Clavier' by Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as the piano works by Sergei Rachmaninoff, Ludwig van Beethoven and Frédéric Chopin. He also studied composition under the notable ethnomusicologist 'Heinrich Litinsky' at the House of Armenian Culture in Moscow. Babajanian graduated as a concert pianist and as composer in 1948. He was a professor at the Yerevan Conservatory from 1950-1956. While in Armenia Babajanian composed his most celebrated concert works such as the 'Heroic Ballade' for piano and orchestra (1950), the 'Armenian Rhapsody' for two pianos (1950), and the acclaimed 'Piano Trio' (1952).

Babajanyan became famous with his title song for the film 'Song of the First Love' (1958). It became a popular radio hit and a best-selling record in the former Soviet Union. At that time the cultural "Thaw" was initiated by Nikita Khrushchev and that allowed some degree of artistic freedom of expression. Babajanian wrote many popular songs in collaboration with the leading poets such as Yevgeni Yevtushenko, Robert Rozhdestvensky, Andrei Voznesensky, Bella Akhmadulina and others. In partnership with the popular singer Muslim Magomayev Babajanian produced many successful recordings. He also composed a large-scale 'Cello Concerto' (1959) dedicated to Mstislav Rostropovich, and important music for piano, especially his innovative 'Six Pictures for Piano' (1965).

Arno Babajanian created a successful cross-cultural style of his own. His original style absorbed a variety of influences including jazz, rock'n roll, classical music, and the traditional Armenian folk-music. Babajanian's original style is immediately recognizable by everyone who once heard his classical compositions and popular hits. He dedicated himself to teaching and concertizing instead of becoming a prolific composer. He died on November 11, 1983, in Moscow.

In honor of the composer a "Memorial Fund of Arno Babajanyan" was opened and it is headed by his son, a composer, singer and actor Ara Babajanyan (Foundation President), and a poet, journalist, singer Vladimir Popkov (general producer).

This Fund supports young talents. It organizes not only evening, but the annual music festivals of Arno Babajanyan. Opening one of them, a famous poet Andrei Dementyev said: "I worked a lot with Babajanyan, he was in love with the life of a man, he had so much humor, humanity, and the music itself was born out of this kindness. He had an intuitive sense of beauty. Arno Babajanyan remained a composer of light and joy for all times."