The Armenian Cultural Foundation (ACF) recently presented a free concert, “A Tribute to Alan Hovhaness,” an eminent composer (1911-2000) who grew up in Arlington and whose career spanned seven decades.
The concert, which was open to the public and suitable for all ages, was at 3 p.m. Sunday, June 9, 2024, in Town Hall, 730 Mass. Ave., as part of the ACF’s annual Mirak Chamber Music Series.
Under the musical directorship of Dr. Pasquale Tassone, the program included the following works:
“Eight Pieces for Solo Flute” (1927) by Paul Hindemith; “Mystic Flute” (1937), “Prayer of St. Gregory” (1946), “Macedonian Mountain Dance” (1960), “How Lovely Are Thy Dwellings” for Guitar and Chorus, Op. 433 (1995) by Alan Hovhaness; “Toccata” (1932) by Aram Khachaturian; “Komitas Portrait” based on the songs of Komitas vardapet (celibate priest) and dances by Vagharshak Srvandztian (2021) by Pasquale Tassone; and “Trumpet Concerto in D Major,” TWV 51:D7 (1710-1720) by Georg Philipp Telemann.
Performers that afternoon were an impressive roster of professional musicians who live and/or work in Arlington, an ACF news release said. They included Wei Zhao, flute; Yelena Beriyeva, piano; Knarik Nerkararyan, soprano; Jing-Huey Wei, viola; Sylvie Zakarian, marimba; Michael Peipman, trumpet; and Aaron Larget-Caplan, guitar. Also performing were the Arlington-Belmont Chamber Chorus conducted by Barry Singer, and The Menotomy Chamber Orchestra, conducted by King-Huey Wei.
Hovhaness a son of Arlington
Born Alan Vaness Chakmakjian on March 8, 1911, to Harutiun Hovaness Chakmakjian, an Armenian chemistry professor at Tufts College, and Madeleine Scott of Scottish ancestry, he changed his surname to Hovhaness in honor of his grandfather. He grew up at 5 Blossom St. in Arlington, and it was within that nurturing environment of Arlington Public Schools that Hovhaness discovered his musical talent and even composed his first opera. His journey from a local student to a globally recognized composer is a testament to Arlington’s role in fostering artistic growth.
Upon graduation from Arlington High School in 1929, he studied under Leo Rich at Tufts and later under Frederick Converse at the New England Conservatory of Music. There, in 1932, he won the Conservatory’s Samuel Endicott prize for composition with his “Sunset Symphony” (also known as “Sunset Saga”). In the early 1940s, he served as the organist at St. James Armenian Church in Watertown. In 1942, he won a scholarship at Tanglewood to study under Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu.
Hovhaness joined the faculty of Boston Conservatory in 1948, where he taught until 1951. He received Guggenheim fellowships in 1953 and 1954 for composition. He wrote scores for the Broadway play “The Flowering Peach” by Clifford Odets (1954), for a ballet for Martha Graham (“Ardent Song”) and for NBC documentaries about India and Southeast Asia (1955 and 1957 respectively).
Music incorporates Asian influences
Starting in the early 1960s, Hovhaness’s music increasingly incorporated influences from other cultures. His travels and research trips to India, Hawaii, Japan, and South Korea took place between 1959 and 1963. As a Fulbright fellow in India, Hovhaness collected more than 300 ragas, learned to play the veena and composed a work for Carnatic Orchestra titled “Nagooran.” This piece was performed and broadcast by the South Indian Orchestra of All India Radio Madras on Feb. 3, 1960. He was given the title “Prince of Music” by Indian music critics.
In Japan (1962-1963), under a Rockefeller Foundation grant, he studied Japanese gagaku as well as nagauta (kabuki) shamisen and joruri (bunraku) shamisen. These experiences led to his composition of “Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints,” Op. 211 (1965), a concerto for xylophone and orchestra.
In 1963, he set up a record label, Poseidon Society, which released around 15 discs over the next decade. Two years later, in 1965, he travelled to what was then the Soviet Union, including Georgia and Armenia, as part of a U.S. government-sponsored delegation.
Honors and later life
Hovhaness was inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1951). He received honorary degrees from universities and institutes worldwide. He moved to Seattle in the early 1970s, where he lived for the rest of his life with his wife, Hinako Fujihara (1932-2022).
Alan Hovhaness died June 21, 2000. A prolific American composer of Armenian descent, he carved a unique path in the world of classical music. His vast body of work, including more than 68 symphonies and more than 500 surviving works of diverse genres, reflects a deep exploration of Armenian, American and Asian musical traditions. He left a great legacy unmatched in the history of the twentieth-century classical music.
Throughout his career, Hovhaness garnered praise from renowned figures across the music world: music critics such as Rudolph Elie, Joel Schwartz, Virgil Thomson, Hubert Roussel, Robert Sherman, John Cage, Lou Harrison and Harold C. Schonberg; world-renowned orchestra conductors such as Leopold Stokowski, Andre Kostelanetz and Dominick Argento; and performer Keith Jarrett, novelist/playwright William Saroyan and Carl Sagan spoke highly of him for his genius, unique style and philosophy.
The archives of Hovhaness, comprising scores, photographs, sound recordings, correspondence and video recordings, are located in several academic centers, including the ACF.
In 2009, the town of Arlington honored Hovhaness by dedicating a monument to him, which was followed by a concert at the Robbins Memorial Town Hall. The monument is on the grounds of Whittemore Park next to the Cyrus Dallin Art Museum, 611 Mass. Ave in the Arlington Center neighborhood.
For more information, call the ACF during office hours at (781) 646-3090.
May 25, 2024: ‘The Four Mrs. Hemingways’ Sunday at Armenian Cultural Foundation
This news announcement was published Thursday, May 30, 2024, based on information from a news release provided by Ara Ghazarians of the Armenian Cultural Foundation in Arlington. It was updated late Sunday, June 9, 2024, to indicate that the concert has taken place.
