Georgy Sarajev

(1919 – 1986)

Turning to the history of the formation of the piano school in Armenia, one can see that its appearance, like many other professional performing schools — vocal, violin, cello, etc. — was carried out under the dominant influence of the Russian (Soviet) school.

The Armenian piano school is a kind of synthesis of artistic patterns, original features of Armenian musical art, musical pedagogical principles, and performing traditions of Russian culture. After the initial period, to a certain extent preparatory (1923 — 1938), the next stage became especially important and a turning point in the life of the Conservatory, when, with the arrival in Yerevan of the pupils of the leading piano schools of the Moscow and St.
Petersburg (Leningrad) Conservatories: Robert Andreasian (student of Leonid Nikolayev), Georgy Sarajev (student of Samariy Savshinsky), Silva Bunatyan (student of Nadezhda Golubovskaya), Kathy Malkhasyan (student of Konstantin Igumnov), as well as the return of the first pupils of the Yerevan Conservatory after completing their studies in Moscow — Anna Ambakumyan (student of Lev Oborin and Konstantin Igumnov) and Marjan Mkhitaryan (students of Teodor Gutman and Konstantin Igumnov) in the conservatory are taking place significant changes, a teaching team of musicians-teachers is being formed, whose musical activity in the future determined the development of the newly emerging piano school.

The biography of Professor Georgy Sarajev, perhaps, is especially interesting from the point of view of the harmonious coexistence of two cultures. Moreover, such coexistence in his life was predetermined from the very beginning.

Georgy Sarajev was born in Moscow in 1919, and his childhood and youth (since the age of four, since the Sarajev family moved) were spent in St. Petersburg (Leningrad). Note that the Sarajevs arrived in 1923 already in Petrograd, but the change of the name of the city did not affect the essence: for the «Leningrader», like the «Petersburger» for us, is forever a synonym for a person of high spirituality, culture, who, as it were, absorbed the unique beauty of the city.

In 1934, Georgy Sarajev entered the group of gifted children at the Leningrad Conservatory in Samariy Savshinsky’s class. This group existed since 1931, and in 1936, on its basis — the number of children then reached 60 people — a 10-class music school was organized (the first director of the Leningrad 10-class music school was Samariy Savshinsky). Thus, Georgy Sarajev was among the first pupils of the Leningrad 10-class music school.

From a young age, Gerogy Sarajev was brought up in a musical environment, where the brightness of talent, musical talent was the norm, and not something exceptional. Something more was required, for everyone had talent, diligence, and the ability to work, was necessary to use their gift as best as possible.

Against the background of gifted children of the first years of the Leningrad 10-class music school, Georgy Sarajev stood out and was one of the best, we find his name among the students of the school — participants in the All-Union Review in 1937.

Georgy Sarajev continued his education at the pre-war Leningrad Conservatory, the brilliant end of which took place during the years of evacuation in Tashkent (in the same year he entered graduate school and began teaching at the Leningrad Conservatory as to Samariy Savshinsky’s assistant).

For an inquisitive young man, the sphere of observation and reflection at the Leningrad Conservatory of those years was extremely interesting and varied. He attended lectures by major theorists and historians of music, listened to lessons, and took piano classes with many outstanding pianists and musicians of Leningrad.

Georgy Sarajev in his autobiographical notes wrote about “the decisive, in many respects determining significance that the lectures of Boris Asafyev, Ivan Sollertinsky, Mikhail Druskin, Lev Barenboim, Georgy Tigranov, Alexander Ostrovsky «… Among his teachers, we will name those who directly influenced Sarajev — a pianist, composer, and later a teacher: first of all, Samariy Savshinsky, Leonid Nikolayev, Arseny Gladkovsky (composition class), Isai Braudo (organ class), Vladimir Sofronitsky.

Georgy Sarajev studied with Samariy Savshinsky for almost ten years, and communication and spiritual connection continued even more, until the death of Samariy Savshinsky in 1968. Savshinsky’s warm letters to Sarajev contain caring, paternal attention to the student, whose talent he appreciated and repeatedly expressed about this in his reviews.

Classes of Georgy Sarajev in the organ class of a prominent researcher and performer of Bach’s music, the author of a fundamental work on articulation Isai Braudo also left a notable mark on his teaching. We also find a special attitude to articulation in the “Piano School for Children”, created by Georgy Sarajev in collaboration with Vache Umr-Shat.
A concise and at the same time accurate explanation of the signs of articulation, visually confirmed (a verbal presentation in this school is necessarily accompanied by a clear example), contributes to the clarity of ideas, and emphasizes the importance of this problem in educating a student’s elementary literacy.

The musical talent of Georgy Sarajev manifested itself in full measure in all spheres of musical art — performance, pedagogy, and composition. At the same time, a characteristic feature is versatility, a wide range of activities in all areas.

In 1944, Gerogy Sarajev came from the Tashkent evacuation to Yerevan as an
already-established, concert pianist. Behind were not only concerts in the capital cities of Russia — Leningrad and Moscow but also the experience of a soloist of the Uzbek Philharmonic (after graduating from the Leningrad Conservatory in Tashkent, in 1942).

His concert activity continues in Armenia. During these years, he gives solo concerts and often plays with a symphony orchestra. From 1944 to 1948 Georgy Sarajev was a soloist of the Armenian State Philharmonic.

Around the same time, since 1945, Sarajev began to perform in an instrumental ensemble — as part of a piano trio. From 1949 until the end of the 1960s, the piano trio consisting of Georgy Sarajev, Hrachya Abajyan (violin), and Aleksandr Chaushyan (cello) was a permanent, concert ensemble. The artists performed not only in the republic but also went on tour to the capitals of the republics of Transcaucasia. The significance of this ensemble in the musical life of Armenia was very great.

Georgy Sarajev was a romantic pianist, with bright virtuoso data, in his repertoire such works as Sonate in h-Moll by Franz Liszt, S.178, «Islamey» by Mily Balakirev, virtuoso arrangements by Leopold Godowsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff, compositions, especially by his beloved Robert Schumann, The Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat minor, Op. 23 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Immediately upon his arrival in Armenia, the pianist’s Armenian repertoire began to take shape, in which, somewhat later, his own compositions for piano occupied a significant place.

Like other peers, talented young pianists of the post-war generation, Georgy Sarajev took part in competitions and festivals characteristic of that time — in the All-Union Competition in 1945, where he received an Honorary Diploma, and at the Prague Festival in 1947, where he was awarded a Certificate of Honor «…for a successful performance at the International Youth Festival in Prague and a display of high performing skills and achievements of Soviet art.” Soon after that, in 1953, for his extensive concert activity in Armenia, Transcaucasia, and Moscow, Georgy Sarajev was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the Republic.

The pedagogical activity of Georgy Sarajev is one of the brightest pages in the musical pedagogy of the Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas. Georgy Sarajev’s high moral qualities and musical culture, deep knowledge, and talent as a musician and teacher were widely recognized, and his authority is exceptionally great not only in the republic but also abroad.

Georgy Sarajev’s musical activity at the Yerevan State Conservatory lasted for 42 years, and the workload was always maximum, while he combined teaching with organizational functions — the head of one of the piano departments (since 1964), as well as the dean (for three years, since 1974).

Among his students are laureates of the Transcaucasian competitions Zemfira Barseghyan, Arutyun Papazyan, Konstantin Sirunyan, Lolita Babajanyan, multiple winners of major international competitions Artur Papazyan and Sergei Babayan, teachers, professors of the Yerevan State Conservatory: Eleonora Voskanyan, Nina Stepanyan, Amalia Bayburtyan, Ziline Zakarian, Irina Kostanyan, Margarita Melik-Stepanyan, composers Edvard Baghdarsaryan, Martin Vardazaryan, Levon Chaushyan, Stepan Lusikyan, musicologists Gevorg Geodakyan, Alina Pahlevanyan. At present, the “musical grandchildren” of Georgy Sarajev are already teaching, continuing the traditions of the Sarajev, and thus, the Nikolaev school.

Like his teacher Samariy Savshinsky, Sarajev was serious and always interested in children’s pedagogy, and although in The Tchaikovsky Secondary Music School, in which he taught until the end of his days in parallel with the conservatory, he did not have students in the lower grades, nevertheless he did a lot in this area. Of course, the most significant is the creation by him in collaboration with Vache Umr-Shat «Piano School for Children» based on Armenian musical material. It implemented many ideas and thoughts about the children’s upbringing of prominent Russian musicians — Lev Barenboim, Alexander Goldenweiser, Samariy Savshinsky, and others. The school is designed for four grades and is currently one of the main children’s benefits in primary education. This school is also interesting as a reflection of the creative work of the children of many prominent Armenian composers of that time, being a kind of anthology of Armenian children’s music of the 20th century. Georgy Sarajev wrote 40 piano pieces for this manual.

The methodical activity of Sarajev was also of great importance. Very often, and in some periods (the 60s-70s), he regularly traveled to many cities and regions of Armenia with consultations, open lessons, and reports for teachers. In line with social activities, one can consider the constant participation of Georgy Sarajev in various competitions, and festivals, as a chairman or jury member.

In 1957, the first Sarajev collection of pieces for piano was published in Yerevan — 12 pieces on folk themes. Around the same years, together with Robert Andreasian carried out several creative works: the creation of the piano transcription of the opera Anoush composed by Armen Tigranian, as well as concert transcriptions of Kristofor Kushnarev’s organ works for two pianos (Sonata, Passacaglia, and Fugue). Several arrangements were created by Sarajev for the piano trio.

The first works published after his arrival in Yerevan were concert transcriptions of two dances from the ballet «Anahit» by Anoushavan Ter-Ghevondyan (1948) and Sarkis Barkhudarian’s piano dances «Naz Par» (1949). From that time until the end of his days, the genre of piano arrangements occupied a central place in the work of Georgy Sarajev, from the lightest arrangements of folk songs that Sarajev wrote for the piano school to a wonderful collection of arrangements on the themes of Komitas, Sayat-Nova, Sheram, Jivani, arrangements of Armenian songs and dances for piano trio. It is characteristic that the last work of Georgy Sarajev, published after his death, in 2002 — was also written in this genre: «Suite on ashug themes» for two pianos. (An ashugh (Armenian: աշուղ) is traditionally a singer-poet and bard who accompanies his song.)

A very important tradition has recently been established in the Yerevan Conservatory — the establishment of competitions for young performers in memory of prominent musicians of the Conservatory. Competitions named after Georgy Sarajev, Robert Andreasian, joint — Marjan Mkhitaryan, and Robert Atayan clearly showed that this is perhaps one of the best ways to preserve the memory of a musician.

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