(1903 - 1978)
In the 1940s and 1950s Khachaturian became the best known Soviet composer after Shostakovich and Prokofiev – Soviet, but not Russian, for he was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, of Armenian parents. Naturally gifted, he taught himself to play the piano but had no formal training until he was 19 and went to Moscow to study at the Gnessin Institute. His talent was obvious, but his experience limited: during his interview he is supposed to have pointed to a cello lying in a corner of the room and cheerfully said, ‘I’d like to learn to play that big violin.’ In 1934 he graduated from the Moscow Conservatory with his First Symphony and established his reputation over the next few years with a series of works that showed him grafting an instinctive sense of folk and popular music onto the Russian classical tradition stemming from Tchaikovsky and Rimsky- Korsakov: among the most successful were the concertos for piano (1936), violin (1940) and cello (1946).
Aram Khachaturian Composition Timpani and Percussion Requirements
Gayaneh - Lezghinka
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) deep snare drum, 2) clash cymbals, 3) orchestral bass drum, 4) suspended cymbal
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Masquerade - Suite
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) xylophone, glockenspiel, 2) snare drum, wood block, 3) clash cymbals, 4) orchestral bass drum, 5) suspended cymbal
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Masquerade - Waltz
Timpani + 4 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) clash cymbals, 3) orchestral bass drum, 4) suspended cymbal
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Piano Concerto
Timpani + 3 percussion
Flexatone, orchestral bass drum, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, snare drum
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Sabre Dance
Timpani
Int'l 32/29/26/23 Prem 32/30/38/25
3 percussion
Xylophone, clash cymbals, orchestral bass drum, suspended cymbal, tambourine, wood block, snare drum
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Spartacus - Adagio
Timpani + 3 percussion
1) snare drum, tam tam, 2) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, 3) orchestral bass drum
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Spartacus - Aegina & Baccanale
Timpani + 6 percussion
1) snare drum, 2) xylophone, 3) glockenspiel, triangle, 4) tambourine, tam tam, 5) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, 6) orchestral bass drum
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Spartacus - Complete
Timpani + 5 percussion
1) snare drum, wood block, tam tam, 2) xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle. 2 wood blocks, maracas, 3) tubular bells, glockenspiel, 3 tom toms, triangle, tambourine, 4) clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, 5) orchestral bass drum
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Violin Concerto
Timpani + 3 percussion
Snare drum, tambourine, clash cymbals, suspended cymbal, orchestral bass drum
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