Alan Hovhaness - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Alan Hovhaness (March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an Armenian-American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

.

His music is accessible to the lay listener and often evokes a mood of mystery or contemplation. The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...

music critic Richard Buell wrote: "Although he has been stereotyped as a self-consciously Armenian composer (rather as Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch

Ernest Bloch was a Swiss-born American composer.-Life:Bloch was born in Geneva and began playing the violin at age 9. He began composing soon afterwards. He studied music at the conservatory in Brussels, where his teachers included the celebrated Belgian violinist Eugène Ysaÿe...

is seen as a Jewish composer), his output assimilates the music of many cultures. What may be most American about all of it is the way it turns its materials into a kind of exoticism. The atmosphere is hushed, reverential, mystical, nostalgic."

He was among the most prolific of 20th century composers, his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and 434 opus numbers. However, the true tally is well over 500 surviving works since many opus numbers comprise two or more distinct works.

Early life

He was born as Alan Vaness Chakmakjian in Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville, Massachusetts

Somerville is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, located just north of Boston. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 75,754 and was the most densely populated municipality in New England. It is also the 17th most densely populated incorporated place in...

, to Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian

Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian

Haroutioun Hovanes Chakmakjian was a published scientist, as well as the father of American composer Alan Hovhaness.-Family/Early background:...

(an Armenian

Armenians

Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....

chemistry professor at Tufts College who had been born in Adana

Adana

Adana is a city in southern Turkey and a major agricultural and commercial center. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, 30 kilometres inland from the Mediterranean, in south-central Anatolia...

, Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

) and Madeleine Scott (an American woman of Scottish descent who had graduated from Wellesley College). When he was five, his family moved from Somerville to Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington, Massachusetts

Arlington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, six miles northwest of Boston. The population was 42,844 at the 2010 census.-History:...

. A Hovhaness family neighbour stated that Hovhaness's mother had insisted on moving from Somerville because of discrimination against the Armenians there. Upon his mother's death (October 3, 1930), he began to use the surname "Hovaness" in honor of his paternal grandfather, and changed it to "Hovhaness" around 1944. He stated the name change from the original Chakmakjian reflected the desire to simplify his name because "nobody ever pronounced it right". However, Hovhaness' daughter Jean Nandi has written in her book Unconventional Wisdom, "My father's name at the time of my birth was 'Hovaness', pronounced with accent on the first syllable. His original name was 'Chakmakjian', but in the 1930s he wanted to get rid of the Armenian connection and so changed his name to an Americanized version of his middle name. Some years later, deciding to reestablish his Armenian ties, he changed the spelling to 'Hovhaness', accent on the second syllable; this was the name by which he later became quite famous."

Hovhaness was interested in music

Music

Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...

from a very early age, writing his first composition at the age of four after being inspired by hearing a song of Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...

. His family was concerned after this first attempt at composition, a cantata in the early Italian style, for his late-night hours spent composing and possibly for his financial future as an artist. He decided for a short time to pursue astronomy, another of his early loves. The fascination of astronomy remained with him through his entire life and composing career with many works titled after various planets and stars.

It is recounted that his father took great pride in his composing and organised his first piano lessons with a neighbourhood teacher. (Alan also played the violin and made a small income for a short time teaching the violin to a neighbour's child.) His father helped to support him long into his young adulthood through many difficult years, and when recognised by Alan from centre stage of his successful Boston Symphony Orchestra Symphony Hall (Koussevitsky) concert, broke into tears.

He continued his piano studies, first with Adelaide Proctor and then with Heinrich Gebhard

Heinrich Gebhard

Heinrich Gebhard was a German-American pianist, composer and piano teacher.-Performer:...

. Gebhard was a student of Theodor Leschetizky, a student of Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny

Carl Czerny was an Austrian pianist, composer and teacher. He is best remembered today for his books of études for the piano. Czerny's music was profoundly influenced by his teachers, Muzio Clementi, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Antonio Salieri and Ludwig van Beethoven.-Early life:Carl Czerny was born...

, whose teacher was Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...

. By age 14, Hovhaness decided to devote himself to composition. Among his first and most important influences were the recordings of Gomidas Vartabed

Komitas Vardapet

In 1950s his manuscripts were also transferred from Paris to Yerevan.Badarak was first printed in 1933 in Paris and first recorded onto a digital media in 1988 in Yerevan. In collecting and publishing so many folk songs, he saved the cultural heritage of Western Armenia that otherwise would have...

, a great Armenian composer who had lived through the Armenian Genocide

Armenian Genocide

The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...

. He composed two operas during his teenage years, which were performed at Arlington High School, and the composer Roger Sessions

Roger Sessions

Roger Huntington Sessions was an American composer, critic, and teacher of music.-Life:Sessions was born in Brooklyn, New York, to a family that could trace its roots back to the American revolution. His mother, Ruth Huntington Sessions, was a direct descendent of Samuel Huntington, a signer of...

took an interest in his music during this time. Following his graduation from high school in 1929, he studied with Leo Rich Lewis

Leo Rich Lewis

Leo Rich Lewis was an American composer. He graduated from Tufts College in Massachusetts in 1887 and later served as Fletcher Professor of Music and chairman of the music department there from 1892 to 1945. He taught courses in music history and theory, as well as composition...

at Tufts and then the New England Conservatory of Music

New England Conservatory of Music

The New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, is the oldest independent school of music in the United States.The conservatory is home each year to 750 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate studies along with 1400 more in its Preparatory School as well as the School of...

, under Frederick Converse

Frederick Converse

Frederick Shepherd Converse , was an American composer of classical music.-Life and career:Converse was born in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Edmund Winchester and Charlotte Augusta Converse. His father was a successful merchant, and president of the National Tube Works and the Conanicut Mills...

. In 1932 he won the Conservatory's Samuel Endicott prize for composition, for a symphonic work entitled Sunset Symphony (elsewhere entitled Sunset Saga). In July 1934, with his first wife, Martha Mott Davis, he traveled to Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

to meet the composer Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius

Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...

, whose music he had greatly admired since childhood. The two remained in correspondence for the next twenty years.

In 1936 Hovhaness attended a performance in Boston by the Indian dance troupe of Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar , the pioneer of modern dance in India, and a world renowned Indian dancer and choreographer, was most known for adapting Western theatrical techniques to traditional Indian classical dance, imbued with elements of Indian classical, folk, and tribal dance, thus laying the roots of...

(with orchestra led by Vishnudas Shirali), which began the composer's lifelong interest in the music of India. During the 1930s (until 1939) he was employed by the WPA

Works Progress Administration

The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...

's Federal Music Project

Federal Music Project

The Federal Music Project , part of the Federal government of the United States New Deal program Federal One, employed musicians, conductors and composers during the Great Depression. People in the music world had been particularly hard-hit by the era's economic downturn...

.

Hovhaness married six times; the first marriage was around 1934, the last 1977. The daughter from his first marriage (his only child) was named Jean Christina Hovhaness (born June 13, 1935) and named after Jean Christian Sibelius

Jean Sibelius

, her godfather

Godparent

A godparent, in many denominations of Christianity, is someone who sponsors a child's baptism. A male godparent is a godfather, and a female godparent is a godmother...

, with whom Hovhaness maintained a friendship.

Destruction of early works

During the 1930s and 1940s, Hovhaness famously destroyed many of his early works. He later claimed that he had burned at least 1000 different pieces, a process that took at least two weeks; elsewhere he claimed that he had destroyed approximately 500 works, up to 1000 pages in total. In an interview with Richard Howard, he stated that the decision was based primarily on Roger Sessions' criticism of his works of that period, and that he wished to have a new start in his composing.

"Armenian Period"

Hovhaness became interested in Armenian culture and music in 1940, as the organist

Organist

An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...

for the St. James Armenian Apostolic Church

Armenian Apostolic Church

The Armenian Apostolic Church is the world's oldest National Church, is part of Oriental Orthodoxy, and is one of the most ancient Christian communities. Armenia was the first country to adopt Christianity as its official religion in 301 AD, in establishing this church...

in Watertown, Massachusetts

Watertown, Massachusetts

The Town of Watertown is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,915 at the 2010 census.- History :Archeological evidence suggests that Watertown was inhabited for thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from England...

, remaining in this position for approximately ten years. In 1942 he won a scholarship at Tanglewood

Tanglewood

Tanglewood is an estate and music venue in Lenox and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It is the home of the annual summer Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival, and has been the Boston Symphony Orchestra's summer home since 1937. It was the venue of the Berkshire Festival.- History...

to study in Bohuslav Martinů

Bohuslav Martinu

Bohuslav Martinů was a prolific Czech composer of modern classical music. He was of Czech and Rumanian ancestry. Martinů wrote six symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. Martinů became a violinist in the Czech Philharmonic...

's master class

Master class

A master class is a class given to students of a particular discipline by an expert of that discipline—usually music, but also painting, drama, or any of the arts....

. During a composer's seminar, while a recording of Hovhaness's first symphony was being played, Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland

Aaron Copland was an American composer, composition teacher, writer, and later in his career a conductor of his own and other American music. He was instrumental in forging a distinctly American style of composition, and is often referred to as "the Dean of American Composers"...

talked loudly in Spanish to the Latin American composers in the room, and when the recording finished, Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein

Leonard Bernstein August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, author, music lecturer and pianist. He was among the first conductors born and educated in the United States of America to receive worldwide acclaim...

went to the piano, played a melodic minor scale, and remarked, "I can't stand this cheap ghetto music." Hovhaness was apparently angered and distraught by this experience at Tanglewood, and quit early despite being on scholarship. Following this experience, he again destroyed a number of his works.

The next year he devoted himself to Armenian subject matter, in particular using mode

Musical mode

In the theory of Western music since the ninth century, mode generally refers to a type of scale. This usage, still the most common in recent years, reflects a tradition dating to the middle ages, itself inspired by the theory of ancient Greek music.The word encompasses several additional...

s distinctive to Armenian music, and continued for several years, achieving some renown and the support of other musicians, including John Cage

John Cage

John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...

and Martha Graham

Martha Graham

Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...

, all while continuing as church organist.

Beginning in the mid-1940s, Hovhaness and two artist friends, Hyman Bloom

Hyman Bloom

Hyman Bloom was a painter. His work is influenced by his Jewish heritage, Eastern religions as well as artists including Altdorfer, Grunewald, Caravaggio, Rembrandt, William Blake, Rudolph Bresdin, J.M.W...

and Hermon di Giovanno, met frequently to discuss spiritual and musical matters. All three had a strong interest in Indian classical music

Indian classical music

The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...

, and brought many well known Indian musicians to Boston to perform. During this period, Hovhaness learned to play the sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

, studying with amateur Indian musicians living in the Boston area. Around 1942, Bloom introduced Hovhaness to Yenovk Der Hagopian, a fine singer of Armenian and Kurdish troubadour songs, whose singing served as an inspiration to Hovhaness.

In one of many applications for a Guggenheim fellowship (1941), Hovhaness presented his credo at the time of application:

I propose to create a heroic, monumental style of composition simple enough to inspire all people, completely free from fads, artificial mannerisms and false sophistications, direct, forceful, sincere, always original but never unnatural. Music must be freed from decadence and stagnation. There has been too much emphasis on small things while the great truths have been overlooked. The superficial must be dispensed with. Music must become virile to express big things. It is not my purpose to supply a few pseudo intellectual musicians and critics with more food for brilliant argumentation, but rather to inspire all mankind with new heroism and spiritual nobility. This may appear to be sentimental and impossible to some, but it must be remembered that Palestrina, Handel, and Beethoven would not consider it either sentimental or impossible. In fact, the worthiest creative art has been motivated consciously or unconsciously by the desire for the regeneration of mankind.

Lou Harrison

Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...

reviewed a 1945 concert of Hovhaness' music which included his 1944 concerto for piano and strings, entitled Lousadzak:

There is almost nothing occurring most of the time but unison melodies and very lengthy drone basses, which is all very Armenian. It is also very modern indeed in its elegant simplicity and adamant modal integrity, being, in effect, as tight and strong in its way as a twelve-tone work of the Austrian type. There is no harmony either, and the brilliance and excitement of parts of the piano concerto were due entirely to vigor of idea. It really takes a sound musicality to invent a succession of stimulating ideas within the bounds of an unaltered mode and without shifting the home-tone.

However, as before, there were also critics:

The serialists were all there. And so were the Americanists, both Aaron Copland's group and Virgil's. And here was something that had come out of Boston that none of us had ever heard of and was completely different from either. There was nearly a riot in the foyer [during intermission] — everybody shouting. A real whoop-dee-doo.

Lousadzak was Hovhaness's first work to make use of an innovative technique he called "spirit murmur" — an early example of aleatoric music

Aleatoric music

Aleatoric music is music in which some element of the composition is left to chance, and/or some primary element of a composed work's realization is left to the determination of its performer...

that was inspired by a vision of Hermon di Giovanno.http://www.hovhaness.com/Howard_Interview.html The technique involves instruments repeating phrases in uncoordinated fashion, producing a complex "cloud" or "carpet" of sounds.http://www.hovhaness.com/Howard_Interview.html.

In the mid-1940s Hovhaness' stature in New York was helped considerably by members of the immigrant Armenian community who sponsored several high-profile concerts of his music. This organization, the Friends of Armenian Music Committee, was led by Hovhaness's friends Dr. Elizabeth A. Gregory, the Armenian American

Armenian-American

Armenian Americans are citizens of the United States whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in Armenia. During the United States 2000 Census, 385,488 respondents indicated either full or partial Armenian ancestry...

piano/violin duo Maro Ajemian

Maro Ajemian

Maro Ajemian was an American pianist. Ajemian's career in contemporary music got its impetus from her Armenian heritage; she became known as a contemporary pianist after performing the U.S...

and Anahid Ajemian

Anahid Ajemian

Anahid Ajemian is an American violinist. Ajemian's career in contemporary music got its impetus from the desire to help young composers of her generation have their compositions performed. Additionally, she enjoyed performing the music of established contemporary performers...

, and later Anahid's husband, pioneering record producer and subsequent Columbia Records executive George Avakian

George Avakian

George Avakian is an American record producer and executive known particularly for his work with Columbia Records, and his production of albums by Miles Davis and other notable jazz musicians....

. Their help led directly to many recordings of Hovhaness' music appearing in the 1950s on MGM and Mercury records, placing him firmly on the American musical landscape.

In May and June 1946, while staying with an Armenian family, Hovhaness composed Etchmiadzin, an opera on an Armenian theme, which was commissioned

Commission (art)

In art, a commission is the hiring and payment for the creation of a piece, often on behalf of another.In classical music, ensembles often commission pieces from composers, where the ensemble secures the composer's payment from private or public organizations or donors.- Commissions for public art...

by a local Armenian church.

Conservatory years

In 1948 he joined the faculty of the Boston Conservatory

Boston Conservatory

The Boston Conservatory is a performing arts conservatory located in the Fenway-Kenmore region of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, dance and musical theater...

, teaching there until 1951. His students there included the jazz musicians Sam Rivers

Sam Rivers

Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....

and Gigi Gryce

Gigi Gryce

Gigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...

Relocation to New York

In 1951, Hovhaness moved to New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, where he took up composing full-time. Also that year (beginning August 1), he worked at the Voice of America

Voice of America

Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...

, first as a script writer for the Armenian Section, then as Director of Music, composer, and musical consultant for the Near East and Trans-Caucasian section. He eventually lost this job (along with much of the other staff) when Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

succeeded Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman

Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

as U.S. president in 1953. Beginning at this time, Hovhaness branched out from Armenian music, adopting styles and material from a wide variety of sources. In 1953 and 1954 he received Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowship

Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...

s in composition. In 1954 he wrote the score for the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

play The Flowering Peach by Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets

Clifford Odets was an American playwright, screenwriter, socialist, and social protester.-Early life:Odets was born in Philadelphia to Romanian- and Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Louis Odets and Esther Geisinger, and raised in Philadelphia and the Bronx, New York. He dropped out of high...

, a ballet for Martha Graham (Ardent Song, 1954), and two scores for NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

documentaries on India and Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...

(1955 and 1957). Also during the 1950s, he composed for productions at The Living Theatre

The Living Theatre

The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group still existing in the U.S...

.

His biggest breakthrough to date came in 1955, when his Symphony No. 2, Mysterious Mountain, was premiered by Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Stokowski

Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...

in his debut with the Houston Symphony. The idea that Mysterious Mountain was commissioned for the Houston Symphony is a common misconception http://www.hovhaness.com/hovhaness.html. That same year, MGM Records

MGM Records

MGM Records was a record label started by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946, for the purpose of releasing soundtrack albums of their musical films. Later it became a pop label, lasting into the 1970s...

released recordings of a number of his works. Between 1956 and 1958, at the urging of Howard Hanson

Howard Hanson

Howard Harold Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, and champion of American classical music. As director for 40 years of the Eastman School of Music, he built a high-quality school and provided opportunities for commissioning and performing American music...

(who was an admirer of his music), he taught summers at the Eastman School of Music

Eastman School of Music

The Eastman School of Music is a music conservatory located in Rochester, New York. The Eastman School is a professional school within the University of Rochester...

Trips to Asia

From 1959 through 1963, Hovhaness conducted a series of research trips to India, Hawaii, Japan, and South Korea, investigating the ancient traditional musics of these nations and eventually integrating elements of these into his own compositions. His study of Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

in Madras

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

, India (1959–60), during which he collected over 300 ragas

Raga

A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...

, was sponsored by a Fulbright

Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the...

fellowship. While in Madras, he learned to play the veena
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...

and composed a work for Carnatic orchestra entitled Nagooran, inspired by a visit to the dargah
Dargah
A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...

at Nagore

Nagore

Nagore is a town in the Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, India. It is located approximately 16 km south of Karaikal and 4 km north of Nagapattinam. Tiruvarur , Mayiladuthurai , Muthupet are nearby towns. It has a population of approximately 90,000. The prime attraction is the renowned...

, which was performed by the South Indian Orchestra of All India Radio

All India Radio

All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...

Madras and broadcast on All India Radio on February 3, 1960. He compiled a large amount of material on Carnatic ragas in preparation for a book on the subject, but never completed it.

He studied Japanese gagaku

Gagaku

Gagaku is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:#Native Shinto religious music and folk songs and dance, called kuniburi no utamai...

music (learning the wind instruments hichiriki
Hichiriki
The is a double reed Japanese fue used as one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku music, the other being the ryūteki. The hichiriki is difficult to play, due in part to its double reed configuration. Although a double reed instrument like the oboe, the hichiriki has a cylindrical...

, shō, and ryūteki
Ryuteki
The is a Japanese transverse fue made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ryūteki is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the heavenly lights and the people of the earth...

) in the spring of 1962 with Masatoshi Shamoto in Hawaii, and a Rockefeller Foundation

Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a prominent philanthropic organization and private foundation based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The preeminent institution established by the six-generation Rockefeller family, it was founded by John D. Rockefeller , along with his son John D. Rockefeller, Jr...

grant allowed him to conduct further gagaku studies with Masataro Togi in Japan (1962–63). Also while in Japan, he studied and played the nagauta
Nagauta
, literally "long song", is a kind of traditional Japanese music which accompanies the kabuki theater. They were developed around 1740. Influences included the vocal yōkyoku style used in noh theater, and instruments including the shamisen and various kinds of drums.The shamisen, a plucked lute...

(kabuki
Kabuki
is classical Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for the stylization of its drama and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers.The individual kanji characters, from left to right, mean sing , dance , and skill...

) shamisen
Shamisen
The , also called is a three-stringed, Japanese musical instrument played with a plectrum called a bachi. The Japanese pronunciation is usually "shamisen" but sometimes "jamisen" when used as a suffix . -Construction:The shamisen is a plucked stringed instrument...

and the jōruri
Joruri
can refer to:*Jōruri , a type of sung narrative with shamisen accompaniment, typically found in Bunraku, a traditional Japanese puppet theatre.*Jōruri , an opera by Japanese composer Miki Minoru.*Jōruri-ji , a Buddhist temple near Nara....

(bunraku
Bunraku
, also known as Ningyō jōruri , is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theater, founded in Osaka in 1684.Three kinds of performers take part in a bunraku performance:* Ningyōtsukai or Ningyōzukai—puppeteers* Tayū—the chanters* Shamisen players...

) shamisen. In recognition of the musical styles he studied in Japan, he wrote his famous Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints, Op. 211

Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints, Op. 211

Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints, Op. 211 , is a concerto in one movement written for xylophone and orchestra by American composer Alan Hovhaness....

(1965), a concerto for xylophone

Xylophone

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...

and orchestra.

In 1963 he composed his second ballet score for Martha Graham, entitled Circe.

Hovhaness set up a record label devoted to the release of his own works, Poseidon Society. Its first release was in 1963, with around 15 discs following over the next decade.

In 1965, as part of a U.S. government-sponsored delegation, he visited Russia, and Soviet-controlled Georgia and Armenia, the only time he visited his paternal ancestral homeland. While there, he donated his handwritten manuscripts of harmonized Armenian liturgical music to the Yeghishe Charents

Yeghishe Charents

Yeghishe Charents was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents was an outstanding poet of the twentieth century, touching upon a multitude of topics that ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialism, and, more prominently, on Armenia and Armenians.An early champion...

State Museum of Arts and Literature in Yerevan

Yerevan

Yerevan is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's oldest continuously-inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerevan is the administrative, cultural, and industrial center of the country...

.

In the mid 1960s he spent several summers touring Europe, living and working much of the time in Switzerland.

World view

Hovhaness stated in a 1971 interview in Ararat magazine:

"We are in a very dangerous period. We are in danger of destroying ourselves, and I have a great fear about this ... The older generation is ruling ruthlessly. I feel that this is a terrible threat to our civilization. It's the greed of huge companies and huge organizations which control life in a kind of a brutal way ... It's gotten worse and worse, somehow, because physical science has given us more and more terrible deadly weapons, and the human spirit has been destroyed in so many cases, so what's the use of having the most powerful country in the world if we have killed the soul. It's of no use".

Later life

Hovhaness was inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters (1951), and received honorary D.Mus.

Doctor of Music

The Doctor of Music degree , like other doctorates, is an academic degree of the highest level. The D.Mus. is intended for musicians and composers who wish to combine the highest attainments in their area of specialization with doctoral-level academic study in music...

degrees from the University of Rochester

University of Rochester

The University of Rochester is a private, nonsectarian, research university in Rochester, New York, United States. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The university has six schools and various interdisciplinary programs.The...

(1958), Bates College

Bates College

Bates College is a highly selective, private liberal arts college located in Lewiston, Maine, in the United States. and was most recently ranked 21st in the nation in the 2011 US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges rankings. The college was founded in 1855 by abolitionists...

(1959), and the Boston Conservatory

Boston Conservatory

(1987). He moved to Seattle in the early 1970s, where he lived for the rest of his life. In 1973 he composed his third and final ballet score for Martha Graham: Myth of a Voyage, and over the next twenty years (between 1973 and 1992) he produced no fewer than 37 new symphonies.

Continuing his interest in composing for Asian instruments, in 1981, at the request of Lou Harrison, he composed two works for Indonesian gamelan

Gamelan

A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....

orchestra, which were premiered by the gamelan of Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark College

Lewis & Clark College is a private institution of higher learning located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate College of Arts and Sciences, a School of Law, and a Graduate School of Education and Counseling. Lewis & Clark is a member of the Annapolis Group of colleges with athletic...

, under the direction of Vincent McDermott

Vincent McDermott

Vincent McDermott is a classically trained American composer and ethnomusicologist. His works show particular influence from the musics of South and Southeast Asia, particularly the gamelan music of Java...

.

Hovhaness is survived by his wife, the coloratura

Coloratura

Coloratura has several meanings. The word is originally from Italian, literally meaning "coloring", and derives from the Latin word colorare . When used in English, the term specifically refers to elaborate melody, particularly in vocal music and especially in operatic singing of the 18th and...

soprano Hinako Fujihara Hovhaness, who administers the Hovhaness-Fujihara music publishing company http://www.orchestralibrary.com/publDir.html, as well as a daughter, the harpsichord

Harpsichord

A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...

ist Jean Nandi.

Hovhaness archives

Significant archives of Hovhaness materials, comprising scores, sound recordings, photographs and correspondence are located at several academic centers, including Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, University of Washington

University of Washington

University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...

, Library of Congress

Library of Congress

The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...

, and Yerevan

Yerevan

’s State Museum of Arts and Literature.

Partial list of compositions

1936 (rev. 1954) - Prelude and Quadruple Fugue (orchestra), Op. 128
1936 - Concerto for Cello and Orchestra, Op. 17
1936 - Exile (Symphony No. 1), Op. 17, No.2
1940 - Psalm and Fugue, Op. 40a
1940 - Alleluia and Fugue, Op. 40b
1944 - Lousadzak (Concerto for piano and strings), Op. 48
1945 - Mihr (for two pianos)
1946 - Prayer of St. Gregory, Op. 62b, for trumpet and strings (interlude from the opera Etchmiadzin)
1947 - Arjuna (Symphony No. 8) for piano, timpani and orch., Op. 179
1949-50 - St. Vartan Symphony (No. 9), Op. 180
1950 - Janabar (Sinfonia Concertante for piano, trumpet, violin and strings), Op. 81
1951 - Khaldis, Op. 91, for piano, four trumpets, and percussion
1953 - Concerto No. 7 (Orchestra), Op. 116
1954 - Concerto for Two Pianos and Orchestra, Op. 123, No. 3
1955 - Mysterious Mountain (Symphony No. 2), Op. 132
1957 - Symphony No. 4, Op. 165
1958 - Meditation on Orpheus, Op. 155
1958 - Magnificat (SATB soli, SATB choir and orchestra), Op. 157
1959 - Symphony No. 6, Celestial Gate, Op. 173
1959 - Symphony No. 7, Nanga Parvat, for symphonic wind band, Op. 178
1960 - Symphony No. 11, All Men are Brothers, Op. 186
1963 - The Silver Pilgrimage (Symphony No. 15), Op. 199
1965 - Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints for xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...

and orchestra, Op. 211
1966 - Vishnu Symphony (No. 19), Op. 217
1967 - Fra Angelico, Op. 220
1968 - Mountains and Rivers without End, Chamber Symphony for 10 players, Op. 225
1969 - Lady of Light (soli, chorus, and orch), Op. 227
1969 - Shambala, Concerto for violin, sitar, and orchestra, Op. 228
1970 - And God Created Great Whales (taped whale songs and orchestra), Op. 229
1970 - Symphony Etchmiadzin (Symphony No. 21), Op. 234
1970 - Symphony No. 22, City of Light, Op. 236
1971 - Saturn Op. 243 for soprano, clarinet, and piano
1973 - Majnun Symphony (Symphony No. 24), Op. 273
1979 - Guitar Concerto No. 1, Op. 325
1982 - Symphony No. 50, Mount St. Helens, Op. 360
1985 - Guitar Concerto No. 2 for guitar and strings, Op. 394

Symphonies

Symphony No. 1 - Exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...

, Op. 17, No. 2 (1936, rev.1970), for orchestra
Symphony No. 2 - Mysterious Mountain, Op. 132 (1955), for orchestra
Symphony No. 3, Op. 148 (1956), for orchestra
Symphony No. 4, Op. 165 (1958), for wind orchestra
Symphony No. 5, Short symphony, Op. 170 (1953, rev.1960), for orchestra
Symphony No. 6 - Celestial Gate, Op. 173 (1959), for chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 7 - Nanga Parvat
Nanga Parbat
Nanga Parbat is the ninth highest mountain on Earth, the second highest mountain in Pakistan and among the eight-thousanders with a summit elevation of 8,126 meters...

, Op. 178 (1959), for wind orchestra
Symphony No. 8 - Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...

, Op. 179 (1947), for piano & orchestra
Symphony No. 9 - Saint Vartan, Op. 80/180 (1949), for orchestra
Symphony No. 10 - Vahaken
Vahagn
Vahagn was a god worshiped anciently and historically in Armenia. Some time in his existence, he formed a "triad" with Aramazd and Anahit. Vahagn was identified with the Greek Heracles. The priests of Vahévahian temple, who claimed Vahagn as their own ancestor, placed a statue of the Greek hero...

, Op. 184 (1944, rev. 1965), for orchestra
Symphony No. 11 - All Men Are Brothers, Op. 186 (1960, rev.1969), for orchestra
Symphony No. 12 - Choral, Op. 188 (1960), for SATB choir, tape & orchestra
Symphony No. 13 - Ardent Song, Op. 190 (1954, rev.1960), for orchestra
Symphony No. 14 - Ararat, Op. 194 (1960), for wind orchestra
Symphony No. 15 - Silver Pilgrimage
Pilgrimage
A pilgrimage is a journey or search of great moral or spiritual significance. Typically, it is a journey to a shrine or other location of importance to a person's beliefs and faith...

, Op. 199 (1962), for orchestra
Symphony No. 16 - Kayagum, Op. 202 (1962), for six Korean
Culture of Korea
The current political separation of North and South Korea has resulted in divergence in modern Korean cultures; nevertheless, the traditional culture of Korea is historically shared by both states.-Dance:...

instruments & chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 17 - Symphony for Metal Orchestra, Op. 203 (1963), for six flutes, three trombones & five percussion
Symphony No. 18 - Circe
Circe
In Greek mythology, Circe is a minor goddess of magic , described in Homer's Odyssey as "The loveliest of all immortals", living on the island of Aeaea, famous for her part in the adventures of Odysseus.By most accounts, Circe was the daughter of Helios, the god of the sun, and Perse, an Oceanid...

, Op. 204a (1963), for orchestra
Symphony No. 19 - Vishnu
Vishnu
Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

, Op. 217 (1966), for orchestra
Symphony No. 20 - Three Journeys to a Holy Mountain, Op. 223 (1968), for wind orchestra
Symphony No. 21 - Etchmiadzin, Op. 234 (1968), for orchestra
Symphony No. 22 - City of Light, Op. 236 (1970), for orchestra
Symphony No. 23 - Ani
Ani
Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, near the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey...

, Op. 249 (1972), for large concert band & brass ensemble ad libitum
Ad libitum
Ad libitum is Latin for "at one's pleasure"; it is often shortened to "ad lib" or "ad-lib"...
Symphony No. 24 - Majnun, Op. 273 (1973), for tenor solo, SATB choir & chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 25 - Odysseus
Odysseus
Odysseus or Ulysses was a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....

, Op. 275 (1973), for orchestra
Symphony No. 26, Op. 280 (1975), for orchestra
Symphony No. 27, Op. 285 (1976), for orchestra
Symphony No. 28 - Armenian II., Op. 286 (1976), for orchestra
Symphony No. 29, Op. 289 (1976), for baritone horn & orchestra
Symphony No. 30, Op. 293 (1976), for chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 31, Op. 294 (1977), for string orchestra
Symphony No. 32 - The Broken Wings, Op. 296 (1977), for orchestra
Symphony No. 33, Op. 307 (1977), for chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 34, Op. 310 (1977), for bass trombone & string orchestra
Symphony No. 35, Op. 311 (1978), for two orchestras (including Korean
Culture of Korea
The current political separation of North and South Korea has resulted in divergence in modern Korean cultures; nevertheless, the traditional culture of Korea is historically shared by both states.-Dance:...

instruments)
Symphony No. 36, Op. 312 (1978), for flute & orchestra
Symphony No. 37, Op. 313 (1978), for orchestra
Symphony No. 38, Op. 314 (1978), for coloratura soprano
Coloratura soprano
A coloratura soprano is a type of operatic soprano who specializes in music that is distinguished by agile runs and leaps. The term coloratura refers to the elaborate ornamentation of a melody, which is a typical component of the music written for this voice...

& chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 39 - Lament
Lament
A lament or lamentation is a song, poem, or piece of music expressing grief, regret, or mourning.-History:Many of the oldest and most lasting poems in human history have been laments. Laments are present in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, and laments continued to be sung in elegiacs accompanied by...

, Op. 321 (1978), for guitar & orchestra
Symphony No. 40, Op. 324 (1979), for orchestra
Symphony No. 41, Op. 330 (1979), for chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 42, Op. 332 (1979), for orchestra
Symphony No. 43, Op. 334 (1979), for oboe, trumpet, timpani & string orchestra
Symphony No. 44, Op. 339 (1980), for orchestra
Symphony No. 45, Op. 342 (1954), for orchestra
Symphony No. 46 - To The Green Mountains
Green Mountains
The Green Mountains are a mountain range in the U.S. state of Vermont. The range extends approximately .-Peaks:The most notable mountains in the range include:*Mount Mansfield, , the highest point in Vermont*Killington Peak, *Mount Ellen,...

, Op. 347 (1980), for orchestra
Symphony No. 47 - Walla Walla
Walla Walla
Walla Walla can refer to:*Walla Walla people, a Native American tribe after which the county and city of Walla Walla, Washington, are named-Places:Washington state, United States*Walla Walla River, the river along which the Walla Walla tribe lived...

, land of many waters, Op. 348 (1980), for soprano & orchestra
Symphony No. 48 - Vision of Andromeda
Andromeda Galaxy
The Andromeda Galaxy is a spiral galaxy approximately 2.5 million light-years from Earth in the constellation Andromeda. It is also known as Messier 31, M31, or NGC 224, and is often referred to as the Great Andromeda Nebula in older texts. Andromeda is the nearest spiral galaxy to the...

, Op. 355 (1981), for orchestra
Symphony No. 49 - Christmas Symphony, Op. 356 (1981), for string orchestra
Symphony No. 50 - Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens
Mount St. Helens is an active stratovolcano located in Skamania County, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is south of Seattle, Washington and northeast of Portland, Oregon. Mount St. Helens takes its English name from the British diplomat Lord St Helens, a...

, Op. 360 (1982), for orchestra
Symphony No. 51, Op. 364 (1982), for trumpet & string orchestra
Symphony No. 52 - Journey to Vega
Vega
Vega is the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest star in the northern celestial hemisphere, after Arcturus...

, Op. 372 (1983), for orchestra
Symphony No. 53 - Star Dawn, Op. 377 (1983), for concert band
Symphony No. 54, Op. 378 (1983), for orchestra
Symphony No. 55, Op. 379 (1983), for orchestra
Symphony No. 56, Op. 380 (1983), for orchestra
Symphony No. 57 - Cold Mountain, Op. 381 (1983), for soprano or tenor solo, clarinet & string orchestra
Symphony No. 58 - Symphony Sacra, Op. 389 (1985), for soprano & baritone soli, SATB choir & chamber orchestra
Symphony No. 59, Op. 395 (1985), for orchestra
Symphony No. 60 - To The Appalachian Mountains
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...

, Op. 396 (1985), for orchestra
Symphony No. 61, Op. 397 (1986), for orchestra
Symphony No. 62 - Oh Let Man Not Forget These Words Divine, Op. 402 (1987–88), for baritone solo, trumpet & string orchestra
Symphony No. 63 - Loon Lake, Op. 411 (1988), for orchestra
Symphony No. 64 - Agiochook
Mount Washington (New Hampshire)
Mount Washington is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at , famous for dangerously erratic weather. For 76 years, a weather observatory on the summit held the record for the highest wind gust directly measured at the Earth's surface, , on the afternoon of April 12, 1934...

, Op. 422 (1989–90), for trumpet & string orchestra
Symphony No. 65 - Artstakh
Artsakh
Artsakh was the tenth province of the Kingdom of Armenia from 189 BC until 387 AD and afterwards a region of Caucasian Albania from 387 to the 7th century. From the 7th to 9th centuries, it fell under Arab control...

, Op. 427 (1991), for orchestra
Symphony No. 66 - Hymn to Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak
Glacier Peak is the most isolated of the five major stratovolcanoes of the Cascade Volcanic Arc in Washington...

, Op. 428 (1992), for orchestra
Symphony No. 67 - Hymn to the Mountains, Op. 429 (1992), for orchestra

Films about Alan Hovhaness

1984 - Alan Hovhaness. Directed by Jean Walkinshaw, KCTS-TV, Seattle.
1986 - Whalesong. Directed by Barbara Willis Sweete, Rhombus Media.
1990 - The Verdehr Trio: The Making of a Medium. Program 1: Lake Samish Trio/Alan Hovhaness. Directed by Lisa Lorraine Whiting, Michigan State University.
2006 - A Tribute to Alan Hovhaness. Produced by Alexan Zakyan, Hovhaness Research Centre, Yerevan, Armenia.

Films with scores by Alan Hovhaness

1955 - Assignment: India. NBC-TV documentary.
1956 - Narcissus. Directed by Willard Maas
Willard Maas
Willard Maas was an American experimental filmmaker and poet.-Personal life and career:He was the husband of filmmaker Marie Menken...

.
1957 - Assignment: Southeast Asia. NBC-TV documentary.
1962 - Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang
Pearl Lang was an American dancer, choreographer and teacher renowned as an interpreter and propagator of the choreography style of Martha Graham, and also for her own longtime dance company, the Pearl Lang Dance Theater....

and Francisco Moncion dance performance: Black Marigolds. From the CBS television program Camera Three, presented in cooperation with the New York State Education Department. Directed by Nick Havinga.
1966 - Nehru: Man of Two Worlds. From The Twentieth Century series; reporter: Walter Cronkite. A presentation of CBS News.
1973 - Tales From a Book of Kings: The Houghton Shah-Nameh. New York, New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art and Time-Life Multimedia.
1980 - Cosmos
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage
Cosmos: A Personal Voyage is a thirteen-part television series written by Carl Sagan, Ann Druyan, and Steven Soter, with Sagan as presenter. It was executive-produced by Adrian Malone, produced by David Kennard, Geoffrey Haines-Stiles and Gregory Andorfer, and directed by the producers, David...

. Hosted by Carl Sagan
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan was an American astronomer, astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books...

. Directed by Adrian Malone.
1982 - Everest North Wall. Directed by Laszlo Pal.
1984 - Winds of Everest. Directed by Laszlo Pal.
2005 - I Remember Theodore Roethke. Produced and edited by Jean Walkinshaw, KCTS Public Television, Seattle.

Notable students

Dominick Argento
Dominick Argento
Dominick Argento is an American composer, best known as a leading composer of lyric opera and choral music...

(b. 1927)
John Davison
John Davison (composer)
John Davison was an American composer and pianist.Born in Istanbul, Turkey, he grew up in Upstate New York and in New York City, and studied music at the Juilliard School's lower school, Haverford College, then received his master's degree from Harvard University, where he focused on Renaissance...

(1930–1999)
John Diercks
John Diercks
John Diercks was born in Montclair, New Jersey, in 1927. He holds degrees in composition from Oberlin, the Eastman School, and the University of Rochester . His composition teachers included Howard Hanson and Alan Hovhaness. For Asian music and dance he studied with Dorothy Kahananui and Halla...

(b. 1927)
Robert Gauldin
Robert Gauldin
Robert "Bob" Luther Gauldin is an American composer and Professor Emeritus of Music Theory at the Eastman School of Music.-Education:* 1953 — bachelor’s degree in composition from the University of North Texas College of Music...

(b. 1931)
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce
Gigi Gryce was an American saxophonist, flautist, clarinetist, composer, arranger, educator, and big band bandleader.His performing career was relatively short and, in comparison to other musicians of his...

(1925–1983)
Sam Rivers
Sam Rivers
Samuel Carthorne Rivers , is an American jazz musician and composer. He performs on soprano and tenor saxophones, bass clarinet, flute, harmonica and piano....

(b. 1923)
Mary Jeanne van Appledorn
Mary Jeanne van Appledorn
Mary Jeanne van Appledorn is an American composer of contemporary classical music and pianist....

(b. 1927)
Robert Washburn (b. 1928)
W. Francis McBeth
W. Francis McBeth
William Francis McBeth was born March 9, 1933, in Ropesville, Texas .McBeth is a prolific composer, whose wind band works are highly respected. His primary musical influences include Clifton Williams, Bernard Rogers, and Howard Hanson...

(b. 1933)
John S. Hilliard
John S. Hilliard
John Stanley Hilliard is an American composer.Born into a family of musical amateurs, John Hilliard began his musical training by studying piano at the age of 6 from his cousin, a local piano teacher...

(b. 1947)

External links

The Alan Hovhaness website
Online Interviews with Alan Hovhaness
Alan Hovhaness in conversation with Bruce Duffie
Alan Hovhaness International Research Centre, Yerevan, Armenia
Alan Hovhaness 2011 Centennial website
Concert listings: the music of Alan Hovhaness in performance
Reminiscences of Alan Hovhaness by pianist Martin Berkofsky
Martin Berkofsky
Martin Berkofsky is an American classical pianist known primarily for his interpretations of music by Franz Liszt and Alan Hovhaness. He has performed extensively throughout Europe as well as in Turkey and Armenia....
"All Men are Brothers" Memorial run honoring the 100th Anniversary of Alan Hovhaness
An analysis of Hovhaness' rhythmic structuring based on the Golden Section

Listening

Other Minds Archive: "The World of Alan Hovhaness" from KPFA
KPFA
KPFA is a listener-funded progressive talk radio and music radio station located in Berkeley, California, broadcasting to the San Francisco Bay Area. KPFA airs public news, public affairs, talk, and music programming. The station signed on-the-air April 15 1949, as the first Pacifica Station...

's Ode To Gravity series, aired 28 January 1976; includes an interview with the composer by Charles Amirkhanian
Charles Amirkhanian
Charles Amirkhanian is an American composer. He is a percussionist, sound poet, and radio producer of Armenian extraction. He is mostly known for his electroacoustic and text-sound music...

recorded in late 1975
Art of the States: Alan Hovhaness Lousadzak, op. 48 (1944)

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