Tigran Mansurian

Tigran Mansurian is an Armenian composer born in Beirut, Lebanon, who moved with his family to Armenia in 1947. He studied at the Yerevan Conservatory, where he later became director. . His musical models included the Armenian composer Komitas and Claude Debussy, while his encounter with the music of Pierre Boulez introduced him to modern compositional techniques. Over time, Mansurian developed a more restrained and economical style, combining ancient Armenian musical traditions with contemporary elements. His lyrical compositions draw on a heritage that ranges from medieval Armenian ecclesiastical chant to distinctive scalar systems and musical forms. His extensive output includes orchestral works, concertos, string quartets, choral music, chamber music and works for solo instruments. During the Soviet era, he composed music for more than one hundred films, using film scoring as an outlet for musical experimentation. His music is characterised by its lyrical expression and the evocative quality of its musical language.