Edward Manukyan
Encyclopedia
Edward Manukyan (born July 27, 1981) is an Armenia
n-born composer residing in Southern California
, United States
. His main works are orchestral and chamber compositions, which lean heavily upon elements of Armenian national folklore
.
. During his student years, Manukyan committed himself to studying music and immediately began concentrating on composition. He became a member of local chamber orchestras, writing material for their repertoires. Among his works were songs, the lyrics of which the composer had penned himself, and instrumental pieces. Manukyan also formed his own jazz quartet and gave concerts at various venues in Yerevan
.
in 2002, Manukyan shifted his interests towards contemporary classical music after studying the works of his compatriot Aram Khachaturian
. A cover-story article in the Glendale News-Press, published on October 23, 2007, shed some light on the composer's unusual start in classical music.
In 2004 Manukyan took composition classes from Rowan Taylor and went on to further study with composers John Kennedy, James Newton
and earned his Master's Degree in Music Composition from the California State University, Los Angeles (2007). Since then, the composer has been collaborating with musicians from all continents, engaging them in concerts, lecture-recitals and other events.
Manukyan has dedicated many of his compositions to scientists, such as biologists James D. Watson
, Francis Crick
, physicists Steven Weinberg
, Richard Feynman
, linguist Noam Chomsky
and astronomer Victor Ambartsumian. He created a project called "Musical Tribute To Scientists and Other People of Reason", which includes lectures on science and philosophy, along with performances of his music. Among the events presented by the project (organized by MIT and Harvard University
) was an honorary concert for Noam Chomsky, at Kresge Auditorium
, in Cambridge, MA.
Manukyan's activism for science is often balanced with his anti-war rhetoric, which could be heard in songs he wrote on words by Chomsky, Bertrand Russell
, Andrei Sakharov
and others. The scientists celebrated in his concert series are usually known for their activism and struggle for human rights and civil liberties.
, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergey Prokofiev, as well as the Armenian successors of their traditions, Alexander Arutiunian
, Edvard Mirzoyan
, Tigran Mansuryan, etc. Later he drew influences from Bela Bartok
and Igor Stravinsky
, striving for a contemporary style that is accessible for larger audiences, in part due to its closeness to Armenian folk music.
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n-born composer residing in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. His main works are orchestral and chamber compositions, which lean heavily upon elements of Armenian national folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
.
Early life
It was not until his last years in high school that Manukyan showed interest in composing music. He taught himself English and in 1997 he won state scholarship to study languages and psychology at the Yerevan State Linguistic UniversityYerevan State Linguistic University
Yerevan State Linguistic University after Valery Brusov is a university in Yerevan, Armenia, which trains specialists in Russian, English, French, German, Greek, Spanish languages, practical psychology, history, political science, area studies and other humanities.-History: Yerevan State...
. During his student years, Manukyan committed himself to studying music and immediately began concentrating on composition. He became a member of local chamber orchestras, writing material for their repertoires. Among his works were songs, the lyrics of which the composer had penned himself, and instrumental pieces. Manukyan also formed his own jazz quartet and gave concerts at various venues in Yerevan
Yerevan
Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...
.
Career in the United States
Upon moving to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 2002, Manukyan shifted his interests towards contemporary classical music after studying the works of his compatriot Aram Khachaturian
Aram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
. A cover-story article in the Glendale News-Press, published on October 23, 2007, shed some light on the composer's unusual start in classical music.
In 2004 Manukyan took composition classes from Rowan Taylor and went on to further study with composers John Kennedy, James Newton
James Newton
James W. Newton is an American jazz flautist, composer, and conductor.-Biography:From his earliest years, James Newton grew up immersed in the sounds of African American music, including urban blues, rhythm and blues, and gospel. In his early teens he played electric bass guitar, alto saxophone,...
and earned his Master's Degree in Music Composition from the California State University, Los Angeles (2007). Since then, the composer has been collaborating with musicians from all continents, engaging them in concerts, lecture-recitals and other events.
Manukyan has dedicated many of his compositions to scientists, such as biologists James D. Watson
James D. Watson
James Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
, Francis Crick
Francis Crick
Francis Harry Compton Crick OM FRS was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, and most noted for being one of two co-discoverers of the structure of the DNA molecule in 1953, together with James D. Watson...
, physicists Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg
Steven Weinberg is an American theoretical physicist and Nobel laureate in Physics for his contributions with Abdus Salam and Sheldon Glashow to the unification of the weak force and electromagnetic interaction between elementary particles....
, Richard Feynman
Richard Feynman
Richard Phillips Feynman was an American physicist known for his work in the path integral formulation of quantum mechanics, the theory of quantum electrodynamics and the physics of the superfluidity of supercooled liquid helium, as well as in particle physics...
, linguist Noam Chomsky
Noam Chomsky
Avram Noam Chomsky is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, and activist. He is an Institute Professor and Professor in the Department of Linguistics & Philosophy at MIT, where he has worked for over 50 years. Chomsky has been described as the "father of modern linguistics" and...
and astronomer Victor Ambartsumian. He created a project called "Musical Tribute To Scientists and Other People of Reason", which includes lectures on science and philosophy, along with performances of his music. Among the events presented by the project (organized by MIT and Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
) was an honorary concert for Noam Chomsky, at Kresge Auditorium
Kresge Auditorium
Kresge Auditorium is an auditorium building for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, located at 48 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, Massachusetts. It was designed by the noted architect Eero Saarinen, with ground-breaking in 1953 and dedication in 1955...
, in Cambridge, MA.
Manukyan's activism for science is often balanced with his anti-war rhetoric, which could be heard in songs he wrote on words by Chomsky, Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Russell
Bertrand Arthur William Russell, 3rd Earl Russell, OM, FRS was a British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, and social critic. At various points in his life he considered himself a liberal, a socialist, and a pacifist, but he also admitted that he had never been any of these things...
, Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Sakharov
Andrei Dmitrievich Sakharov was a Soviet nuclear physicist, dissident and human rights activist. He earned renown as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. Sakharov was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the...
and others. The scientists celebrated in his concert series are usually known for their activism and struggle for human rights and civil liberties.
Style and influences
Edward Manukyan's compositional style was mainly influenced by the middle-generation Soviet composers, such as Aram KhachaturianAram Khachaturian
Aram Ilyich Khachaturian was a prominent Soviet composer. Khachaturian's works were often influenced by classical Russian music and Armenian folk music...
, Dmitry Shostakovich and Sergey Prokofiev, as well as the Armenian successors of their traditions, Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Arutiunian
Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian , also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի Հարությունյան), also known as Arutunian, Arutyunyan, Arutjunjan or Harutiunian Alexander Grigorevich Arutiunian (Arm. Ալեքսանդր Գրիգորի...
, Edvard Mirzoyan
Edvard Mirzoyan
Edvard Mirzoyan , is an Armenian composer.Mirzoyan was born in Gori, Georgia. Initially schooled in music in Yerevan and graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory, Mirzoyan went on to Moscow to further refine his art. In late 1956 he was elected president of the Armenian Composers’ Union, a...
, Tigran Mansuryan, etc. Later he drew influences from Bela Bartok
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...
and Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
, striving for a contemporary style that is accessible for larger audiences, in part due to its closeness to Armenian folk music.
Orchestral
- Concerto for piano and orchestra (2004)
- Three Pieces, for orchestra (2005)
- Images of Armenia, suite for orchestra (2005)
- Dance-Introduction
- Fanfare of Nostalgia
- Capriccio
- Romance
- Patriotic March
- Hello, Armenia!", overture for symphony orchestra (2005)
- Elegia for wind orchestra (2006)
- Symphony No. 1 (2006)
- Triumph of Reason, for symphony orchestra (2008)
Chamber
- Suite for brass quartet Nos. 1 & 2 (2005)
- Brass Quintet (2005)
- Song and Dance, for violin and piano (2005)
- Concerto for chamber ensemble (2006)
- Trio for clarinet, violin and piano (2007)
- Esquisse, for violin and piano (2007)
- Miniature, for clarinet and piano (2007)
- Three Scenes From a Peasant's Life, for solo violin (2007)
- Double Helix, for clarinet and violin (2008)
- Song About Byurakan, for clarinet and violin (2008)
Piano
- Caucasian Waltz (2003)
- Dance for piano duo (2003)
- Elegia (2006)
- Ten Pieces for piano (2006)
Vocal
- Songs on words by Armenian poets, for voice and piano (2006)
- Five Songs, for voice and piano (2006)
- Three Songs About Love, for high voice and piano (2008)
- Three Passions, for high voice and piano (2009)
External links
- Manukyan's official website in English, Armenian, Russian and French
- An early interview with Edward Manukyan (by Cathy Colman)
- Manukyan's Myspace page
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsS94yGrTkEVideo of "Double Helix, dedicated to James D. WatsonJames D. WatsonJames Dewey Watson is an American molecular biologist, geneticist, and zoologist, best known as one of the co-discoverers of the structure of DNA in 1953 with Francis Crick...
]