The exhibition presents a portrait sculpture of Karen Khachaturian made by Mikhail Lushnikov.
The composer was born on September 19, 1920, in Moscow, in a family of the theatrical director Suren Khachaturian, who was the brother of the famous Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian. According to Aram’s words, the family home “was a kind of artistic club, where many prominent people of art got together”.
At the age of eight, Karen entered Olga Gnessina’s piano class at the Gnessin State Musical College. In 1938, Khachaturian entered the Music School of the Moscow Conservatory, where he took two classes at once — piano and composition.
Karen Khachaturian composed the music for 50 fiction and animated films, including “Velká cesta”, “Children of Pamir”, “Viy”, “About Friends and Comrades”, as well as for 20 theatre productions. In 1973, he created the ballet Cipollino, based upon his music for the 1961 Soviet animated cartoon of the same name. This production brought Khachaturian international fame.
In 1951, during the concert dedicated to the Fifth Plenum of the Soviet Union of Composers, Khachaturian’s “Youth Overture” composed for the 30th anniversary of Soviet Armenia was heard for the first time. When working on it, the composer traveled to Armenia, where he collected folk songs, therefore the overture harked back to the local musical folklore.
From 1952 to 2011, Khachaturian held classes at the Moscow Conservatory. Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina were among his students. In 1981, he became a professor and was awarded a rank of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR.
Karen Khachaturian passed away in 2011 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
The sculptor Mikhail Lushnikov graduated from the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after Surikov. He participated in national and international exhibitions from 1973, and in 1977, he joined the Artists’ Union of the USSR.
In the period from 1996 to 1999, Lushnikov participated in the bas-relief reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, as a member of Vladimir Mokrousov’s group. In 2000, Lushnikov was awarded the title of Merited Artist of Russia.
Mikhail Lushnikov works in the indoor and monumental sculpture genre with different materials such as bronze, marble, and wood. The sculptor’s artworks are housed by many museums, in the Artists’ Union and the Ministry of Culture collections, as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.
The composer was born on September 19, 1920, in Moscow, in a family of the theatrical director Suren Khachaturian, who was the brother of the famous Soviet composer Aram Khachaturian. According to Aram’s words, the family home “was a kind of artistic club, where many prominent people of art got together”.
At the age of eight, Karen entered Olga Gnessina’s piano class at the Gnessin State Musical College. In 1938, Khachaturian entered the Music School of the Moscow Conservatory, where he took two classes at once — piano and composition.
Karen Khachaturian composed the music for 50 fiction and animated films, including “Velká cesta”, “Children of Pamir”, “Viy”, “About Friends and Comrades”, as well as for 20 theatre productions. In 1973, he created the ballet Cipollino, based upon his music for the 1961 Soviet animated cartoon of the same name. This production brought Khachaturian international fame.
In 1951, during the concert dedicated to the Fifth Plenum of the Soviet Union of Composers, Khachaturian’s “Youth Overture” composed for the 30th anniversary of Soviet Armenia was heard for the first time. When working on it, the composer traveled to Armenia, where he collected folk songs, therefore the overture harked back to the local musical folklore.
From 1952 to 2011, Khachaturian held classes at the Moscow Conservatory. Alfred Schnittke and Sofia Gubaidulina were among his students. In 1981, he became a professor and was awarded a rank of the People’s Artist of the RSFSR.
Karen Khachaturian passed away in 2011 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery.
The sculptor Mikhail Lushnikov graduated from the Moscow State Academic Art Institute named after Surikov. He participated in national and international exhibitions from 1973, and in 1977, he joined the Artists’ Union of the USSR.
In the period from 1996 to 1999, Lushnikov participated in the bas-relief reconstruction of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, as a member of Vladimir Mokrousov’s group. In 2000, Lushnikov was awarded the title of Merited Artist of Russia.
Mikhail Lushnikov works in the indoor and monumental sculpture genre with different materials such as bronze, marble, and wood. The sculptor’s artworks are housed by many museums, in the Artists’ Union and the Ministry of Culture collections, as well as in private collections in Russia and abroad.
