Aram Khachaturian was an Armenian composer who lived from 1903 to 1978. He grew up hearing the folk music of the Caucasus, the mountain region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, and he carried its rhythms and colors into the concert hall. He did not begin to study music until he was 19. His Sabre Dance is one of the fastest, loudest, most famous short pieces ever written, and it is the best first piece for a child.
Quick facts
- Born: 1903, near Tbilisi, in what is now the country of Georgia
- Died: 1978, in Moscow, Russia
- Era: Modern
- Played: piano and cello
- Known for: the Sabre Dance from the ballet Gayane, the ballet Spartacus, the Masquerade waltz, and a violin concerto
The life in short
Khachaturian’s family was Armenian. His father bound books for a living, and money was short. The city he grew up in was full of music: Armenian, Georgian, and Azerbaijani songs, street bands, and dances at weddings. As a boy, he drummed out rhythms on a copper basin at home and played the tenor horn in a school band.
At 18, he moved to Moscow to live with his older brother. He spoke little Russian and could not read music well. A year later, he was admitted to a music school all the same, and he took up the cello. His teachers saw his gift and moved him to composing.
He caught up fast. By his thirties, he had written a piano concerto and a violin concerto that were played around the world.
In 1942, during the Second World War, he wrote the ballet Gayane. Close to the first performance, the directors asked for one more dance. By his own account, he wrote the Sabre Dance in a single night.
In 1948, the Soviet government attacked him in public, along with Prokofiev and Shostakovich. Officials said their music was too modern and not what the people wanted. He kept working, and the criticism was later withdrawn.
He spent his later years conducting his own music on tours of many countries and teaching young composers in Moscow.
What the music sounds like
Khachaturian’s music is bold and colorful. The rhythms drive hard, the tunes curl and twist in the manner of Armenian folk songs, and the orchestra blazes with brass and percussion.
His slow music is rich and sweeping. His fast music is some of the most energetic in the orchestra’s library.
Pieces to play first
Sabre Dance, from Gayane. Dancers show off their skill with swords. The xylophone and the brass hammer out one note again and again, and a saxophone slides in with a smoother tune in the middle. It lasts about two and a half minutes. Read Sabre Dance for kids.
Waltz, from Masquerade. A dark, swirling waltz that he wrote for a play. It sounds grand and a little dangerous.
Adagio, from Spartacus. A slow, sweeping love theme from his ballet about a gladiator who leads a revolt in ancient Rome.
“Ivan Sings,” from the Children’s Album. A gentle, sad piano piece that students play in their first years.
Things to do together
Sword freeze. Play the Sabre Dance. Run in place, and freeze each time the trombones slide.
Find the xylophone. Raise a hand when the xylophone hammers the repeating note. Read percussion instruments for kids.
Fast and then calm. Play the Sabre Dance and then the Adagio from Spartacus. Ask your child to move to each. Use the Adagio to cool down.
Find the Caucasus. On a map, find Armenia, Georgia, and the mountains between the two seas.
For piano students
Khachaturian wrote two albums of piano pieces for children. Pieces from them, such as “Ivan Sings,” appear in exam books for the early and middle grades. His Toccata is a favorite showpiece for advanced students.
A late start
Many famous composers began as small children. Khachaturian began at 19. It is a good story for an older child who thinks they have started too late.
Print and play
Fill in a composer study notebook page for Khachaturian. Find more music to move to in classical music for kids to dance to. For two composers who faced the same trouble with the Soviet government, read Prokofiev for kids and Shostakovich for kids.
For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.
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This article is part of Classical composers for kids: a guide by era, from Vivaldi to Britten.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.