page_title: Aram Khachaturian
section_title: Education (1922–36)
hierarchical_section_title: Aram Khachaturian / Biography / Education (1922–36)
caption_attribution_description: English: Aram Khachaturian
context_page_description: Aram Il'yich Khachaturian was a Soviet Armenian composer and conductor. He is considered one of the leading Soviet composers.
  Born and raised in Tbilisi, the multicultural capital of Georgia, Khachaturian moved to Moscow in 1921 following the Sovietization of the Caucasus. Without prior music training, he enrolled in the Gnessin Musical Institute, subsequently studying at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Nikolai Myaskovsky, among others. His first major work, the Piano Concerto, popularized his name within and outside the Soviet Union. It was followed by the Violin Concerto and the Cello Concerto. His other significant compositions include the Masquerade Suite, the Anthem of the Armenian SSR, three symphonies, and around 25 film scores. Khachaturian is best known for his ballet music—Gayane and Spartacus. His most popular piece, the "Sabre Dance" from Gayane, has been used extensively in popular culture and has been covered by a number of musicians worldwide. His style is "characterized by colorful harmonies, captivating rhythms, virtuosity, improvisations, and sensuous melodies".
context_section_description: In 1921, the eighteen-year-old Khachaturian moved to Moscow to join his oldest brother, Suren, who had settled in Moscow earlier and was a stage director at the Moscow Art Theatre by the time of his arrival.  He enrolled at the Gnessin Musical Institute in 1922, simultaneously studying biology at the Moscow University. He initially studied the cello under Sergei Bychkov and later under Andrey Borysyak. In 1925, Mikhail Gnessin started a composition class at the institute, which Khachaturian joined. In this period, he wrote his first works: the Dance Suite for violin and piano (1926) and the Poem in C Sharp Minor (1927). Beginning with his earliest works, Khachaturian extensively used Armenian folk music in his compositions.
  In 1929, Khachaturian entered the Moscow Conservatory to study composition under Nikolai Myaskovsky and orchestration under Sergei Vasilenko. In 1933, he married the composer Nina Makarova, a fellow student from Myaskovsky's class. He finished the conservatory in 1934 and went on to complete his graduate work in 1936.
caption: Khachaturian in the 1930s