Arno Babajanyan

Many interesting memories have been preserved about the outstanding Armenian composer, and pianist Arno Babajanyan, his work, and his original human personality.

In Yerevan, where he was born and raised, in Moscow, where he studied and then lived for many years, wherever he traveled and with whomever he communicated, he left an unforgettable mark in the hearts of people. In addition to his enormous musical talent, he was conquered by his inexhaustible love of life, deep sincerity, and indestructible humor.

These qualities manifested themselves in original metaphorical statements passed from mouth to mouth, in funny, witty jokes, and in a couple of parodic scenes played out by him with genuine skill.

Many memories are kept by the memory of his closest friends — composers, fellow musicians, and admirers of his talent not only in Armenia but also beyond its borders.
First of all, it must be said about the teacher of Arno Babajanyan, an outstanding Russian musician, and professor of the Moscow Conservatory Konstantin Igumnov. It is well known that Konstantin Igumnov had an enormous impact on the formation of a young musician.

“Igumnov developed in me a broad musical thinking, broadened my musical horizons, instilled a strict artistic taste,” Arno Babajanyan wrote. And Igumnov himself, the tutor of world-famous performers Lev Oborin, Yakov Flier, and many others, characterized Arno Babajanyan as a «rarely gifted nature», and wrote the following about him: «Talented, artistic, has a bright performing temperament, a direct sense of music.» Konstantin Igumnov considered it possible to compare the scale and character of Babajanyan’s pianism with the pianism of one of his most beloved and highly revered pianists, the pianism of Sergei Rachmaninoff. He saw similarities with the great pianist even in the structure of his hands: “What a paw!” — Konstantin Igumnov exclaimed somehow.

Arno Babajanyan said that after the performance of Mily Balakirev’s most difficult oriental fantasy » Islamey», Oriental Fantasy, Op.18, enthusiastically accepted by the audience, he learned from others that Konstantin Igumnov was pleased and praised him. In connection with «Islamey», the words of Arno Babajanyan are recalled. He said with humor that to perform this work, to overcome its complexity, it would be necessary to have a servant.

Professor of the Moscow Conservatory Vera Gornostayeva in her book “Two Hours After the Concert” writes: “I remember once Sviatoslav Richter told me with deep sadness about one failed vocation of Arno Babajanyan: “He would be the greatest pianist if he did it! But he wrote music, and have gone headlong into composition, as a pianist he performed, only performing his own».

The greatest pianists of the 20th century, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels, spoke of the talent of the pianist Babajanyan in superlatives. His ensemble skill was also highly

appreciated. This fact comes to mind. Once Arno Babajanyan’s Piano Trio in F-sharp minor was performed in the Small Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. The composition of the musicians was as follows: David Oistrakh (violin), Sviatoslav Knushevitsky (cello), and Arno Babajanyan (piano). Of course, it was a bright event, the hall was full. After the concert, enthusiastic listeners rushed backstage to thank the artists. When they approached David Oistrakh, he answered as follows: “I am sure that with any composition of the performers, the Trio would have sounded great, but on one obligatory condition — Arno Babajanyan must sit at the piano!”.Such was the gift of the ensemble musician-pianist Arno Babajanyan.

The most interesting episode from Arno Babajanyan’s student life is recalled by the composer Edvard Mirzoyan: «In the year of graduating from the Moscow Conservatory, Arno Babajanyan, as a pianist at the final exam, in addition to the usual program passed with his professor, had to perform a piece of Alexander Scriabin that he had learned on his own. But he did not have time to learn one of the pieces of Alexander Scriabin and, having come to the exam, he quickly dictated the entire program he had learned with the teacher to the laboratory assistant of the department, and at the end, adding: “Scriabin — Prelude”, he began to wait. It was his turn to play. Entering the concert hall, which was overflowing, and sitting down at the instrument, he enthusiastically played the program, and when the time came to play Scriabin, without being at a loss, he performed his prelude written long ago in the style of Scriabin. Outstanding Scriabinists Konstantin Igumnov, Heinrich Neuhaus, and Alexander Goldenweiser were puzzled: they did not know such a composer’s prelude, but they did not want to admit it to each other either. The exam went brilliantly, and then Arno admitted that he played his piece instead of Scriabin’s composition.» Of course, it can be assumed that the three famous Scriabinists sitting on the commission did not want to openly reveal their ignorance of this prelude, or, more likely, the student’s improvisation was so talented and so close to the spirit of Scriabin’s music that they gave Babajanyan the highest score.

Of course, the memory of Arno Babajanyan from the singer, People’s Artist of the USSR Nara Hovhannisyan is also of interest: “Somehow I was lucky enough to perform in a concert with Arno Babajanyan, and he acted as my accompanist. Everything went well. But when I sang «The Song of Drunken People» from Tikhon Khrennikov’s opera based on William Shakespeare’s comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” and, naturally, began to portray my hero with facial expressions and gestures, I suddenly felt that the attention of the audience turned to the pianist sitting at the piano. I could not immediately turn to him, but when I managed to do this, I saw how skillfully, with grimaces, Arno Babajanyan portrayed a drunk. And at the end of the song, he, as it were, “pecked” with his nose, i.e. buried himself, and fell face down on the keyboard, as befits a drunk. Such was the power of Arno’s acting.»

They say that if Arno Babajanyan had not been an outstanding musician, he would have become an outstanding actor, and maybe even a painter. The basis of the latter is the paintings hung on the wall of his Moscow apartment, including an unusually expressive self-portrait painted in oil.
Memories of the composer Ghazaros Saryan brings us back to Arno Babajanyan, the pianist. “In one of the classrooms of the Yerevan Conservatory, there was an old piano from the French company «Pleyel». This piano was about to be scrapped. It so happened that Arno Babajanyan was offered to decide the fate of the instrument by checking it. And what do you think? This decrepit piano under the pianist’s fingers sang so much, sounded so

much that they changed their minds about writing it off ” (from a personal conversation between Shushanik Apoyan and the composer).

In the end, we note that Arno Babajanyan taught at the Yerevan State Conservatory from 1950 to 1955. The future professors of this conservatory Roza Tandilyan, Robert Shugarov, Vahagn Stamboltsyan, and others studied in his piano class.