Composer

Aram Khachaturian

1903–1978

48 works · 2 upcoming works performed

BalletConcertoFilm MusicIncidental Music

The composer who made Soviet music dance, Khachaturian fused Armenian folk traditions with Russian symphonic heft and balletic brilliance. His Sabre Dance became one of classical music's most recognizable tunes, but beyond the hit lies a catalog of colorful, emotionally direct music rooted in Caucasian melodies and rhythms. He proved Soviet realism could be both ideologically correct and genuinely exciting.

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Upcoming Performances

2 concerts featuring works by this composer

Sat, Oct 10

San Diego·Jacobs Music Center·7:30 PM

KHACHATURIANViolin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 46

+ additional works

Rafael Payareconductor · with San Diego Symphony

Details

Sun, Oct 11

San Diego·Jacobs Music Center·2:00 PM

KHACHATURIANViolin Concerto in D Minor, Op. 46

+ additional works

Rafael Payareconductor · with San Diego Symphony

Details

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Where to Start

New to Aram Khachaturian? These works make great entry points.

Adagio from Spartacus Ballet

Heartbreakingly beautiful, this movement became famous as the theme for The Onedin Line—romantic string writing at its most lush.

Masquerade Suite

Charming incidental music that captures old Tbilisi with waltzes and dances of elegant nostalgia—Khachaturian at his most refined.

Sabre Dance from Gayane

Yes, it's overexposed, but there's a reason it's iconic—two minutes of pure rhythmic adrenaline that never fails to thrill.

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Essential Works

The works that define Aram Khachaturian's legacy.

Gayane Ballet Suite (including Sabre Dance)

His most famous work beyond the hit single, the full suite reveals his gift for character dance and orchestral color in service of narrative.

Violin Concerto in D Minor

A passionate showpiece that balances Armenian melodic character with virtuoso demands, beloved by soloists for its romantic sweep.

Piano Concerto in D-flat Major

Thunderous, brilliant, and unapologetically virtuosic—a concerto that captures both Soviet grandiosity and Armenian lyricism.

Browse all 48 works ↓Add to Spotlight to be notified when a piece is scheduled.

Beyond the Familiar

Symphony No. 2 in E Minor ('The Bell')— His most ambitious symphonic work, incorporating a narrative program about Soviet life with Armenian thematic material.

Cello Concerto in E Minor— A lesser-known concerto that reveals his gift for lyrical writing and understanding of the cello's singing capabilities.

Sonata for Cello and Piano— An intimate chamber work showing he could write effectively for small forces beyond his usual orchestral opulence.

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About Aram Khachaturian

Musical style, influences, and more

Musical Voice

Khachaturian's music pulses with dance rhythms, modal Armenian melodies, and brilliant orchestral color that evokes exotic Eastern sonorities. His harmonic language balances tonal clarity with spicy chromaticism and modal inflections. The textures are thick, the melodies memorable, the rhythms visceral—music that wears its heart on its orchestral sleeve without apology.

Influences & Connections

Studied with Myaskovsky at the Moscow Conservatory, absorbing Russian symphonic traditions. His Armenian heritage provided endless melodic and rhythmic material that he synthesized with Western forms. Influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov's orientalism and Prokofiev's rhythmic vitality. His work paralleled Shostakovich and Prokofiev but maintained a more overtly folk-based, optimistic style.

Career Arc

Early works explored Armenian folk material in small forms. His ballet Gayane (containing Sabre Dance) brought international fame and official approval. The Violin Concerto and symphonies showed growing mastery of large-scale forms. Later works faced official censure during the 1948 formalism crackdown but he adapted, maintaining productivity. Late period saw increased international conducting and continued refinement of his colorful, folk-inflected style.

Did You Know?

Sabre Dance became so popular that Khachaturian grew to resent it, feeling it overshadowed his more substantial achievements. Yet he couldn't escape it—the piece appeared in cartoons, films, commercials, and even as a rock and roll cover, making him one of the most widely heard but least deeply known classical composers.

Hidden Gem

Khachaturian didn't seriously study music until age 19, considered extremely late for a conservatory composer. He initially came to Moscow to study biology, only discovering his musical vocation by accident when he heard a concert that changed his life.

Programming Context

The concertos remain popular with soloists seeking romantic display pieces. Ballet suites appear regularly, though programmers often avoid Sabre Dance as too hackneyed. Experiencing quiet reassessment as orchestras explore Soviet repertoire beyond Shostakovich and Prokofiev. His music's directness and color make it audience-friendly—evergreen in Russia, undervalued elsewhere.

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