Grigor Yeghiazaryan

Grigor Yeghiazaryan (), also known as Grigory Ilyich (Yegiayevich) Yegiazaryan (; December 21, 1908 − November 4, 1988), was a Soviet Armenian composer. After a childhood spent amidst the Armenian genocide, Yeghiazaryan joined the Red Army in 1921, playing in regimental bands until 1929. He enrolled in the Moscow Conservatory in 1930, where his teachers included Reinhold Glière and Nikolai Myaskovsky. Upon graduation, he taught and lectured in the Armenian SSR; first in Leninakan, then Yerevan. As composer, teacher, and functionary, he established himself as a crucial figure in Armenian musical culture of the mid-20th century. Biography Early life Yeghiazaryan was born to an Armenian peasant family in the village of Blur, Erivan Governorate, Russian Empire (today Enginalan, Iğdır Province, Turkey), on December 21, 1908. His family fled to Yerevan in 1918 as a result of the Armenian Genocide, in the course of which two of his brothers and three of his sisters died from starvation. While on an expedition foraging for food, he heard the sound of a nearby military band in a regiment of the 11th Red Army. When the bandmaster saw the sight of the young Yeghiazaryan, he took pity and offe