Ara Babajanyan Personal Biography

Today we understand that without its “queen of beauty”, “the best city of the earth”, “damn wheel”, “weddings”, “nokturna” the golden age of Russian pop art would be impossible. The son of Arno Harutyunovich, actor and musician Ara Babajanyan, shared the memories of his father with the “culture”. Babajanyan: Starting with the GO, established in memory of the father, the Fund has been organizing the music of Arno Babajanyan's music every five years.

This year we also plan several creative actions. The final chord will be a large concert scheduled for early December at the State Kremlin Palace. In addition, we have long been bearing the idea of ​​the project "Babajanyan's songs performed by Hvorostovsky." Unfortunately, Dmitry’s disease has somewhat violated our plans, but if everything works out, and I really hope for it, then such an action will become a real gift for fans of both Dmitry Alexandrovich and Arno Harutyunovich.

There is also an idea to arrange a series of concerts in the cities of Russia. A certain intermediate link will be the evening of Babajanyan in the house of music. The other day I met with Renat Ibragimov, who made a similar initiative. What is quite logical: Renat has always been one of the first performers of his father’s songs, and recently also prepared a new album. We want to hold several memorable actions in the post -Soviet space: in Armenia, Kazakhstan, and abroad - in France, the USA.

Plus, we are going to release several discs where the father’s songs are presented both by famous artists and novice vocalists. So, as you see, there are a lot of plans, the geography is wide - God forbid all this successfully implemented. Was your dad a child prodigy? Babajanyan: You can say so. The story of the birth of the first song - the “Pioneer March” - is very curious.

After the revolution, he was responsible for culture issues. So, Egish Abgarovich and my father’s parents were very friendly. Once he came to visit them and, you know, as it usually happens when there is a musically gifted child in the house: they ask him to play something. Dad performed his work. The amazed Charenz asked: “Maybe you have notes? And right on a sheet of musical paper, Egish Abgarovich put a resolution: "Publish in the number of copies." And so it turned out that the work of a seven -year -old child was officially released in Armenia Babajanyan: at that time in Yerevan there was a school for especially gifted children, their father was accepted there.

And when he graduated from a decadent, he was offered to go to Moscow. By the way, not anyone, but Aram Khachaturian himself, advised, he generally played a significant role in his father's creative fate. Father arrived in the capital, dreaming of entering the class of Konstantin Igumnov an outstanding pianist and teacher, professor of the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR.

It turned out that in Yerevan they learned that Babajanyan had left without official permission, and sent a telegram to Moscow demanding to return the “fugitive”. Dad, of course, was upset, went to Khachaturian, set out the situation. To which Aram Ilyich replied: “You know, it’s hard to fight these bureaucrats, let's introduce you to Elena Gnesina, I'm friendly with her. She will make listening, after which we will decide what to do.

” No sooner said than done. Dad’s game on the piano was so impressed by Gnesin that she decided to accept her father immediately at the third year of school. On this, however, the ordeal did not end, from Yerevan they sent letters for a long time, their content was reduced to one thing: let him return to Armenia and renew here. Dad flatly refused: they say, why disgrace - what am I, a professional farm?

They will give them how: what came out for me, they kicked out - so he returned. Better I’ll go to the station to unload the bags in order to at least somehow live in Moscow. As a result, dad’s fate was decided almost at the state level. During a visit to the capital of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of Armenia Arama Piruzyan, Elena Gnesina signed up for an appointment and convinced that Babajanyan should continue his studies in Moscow.

In general, his father remained, successfully graduated from the school, after which he entered the first year of the Moscow Conservatory. Babajanyan: Yes, and the father, along with other freshmen, was sent to the construction of defensive lines near Moscow. Soon, the conservatory, together with students and the professorship, was evacuated to Saratov. There, in parallel with training, Arno Harutyunovich led the pop orchestra that existed on the basis of the local communication school.

Later, my father with irony recalled that in the hungry years this served as a good help: the soloist of the orchestra was a cook and often fed colleagues. After some time, Babajanyan was allowed to go to Yerevan, where many professors of the conservatory were also distributed, among them there were Konstantin Igumnov. In M, dad returned to Moscow, three years later he graduated from the conservatory in the piano class, and in parallel, in the years, in the studio at the House of Culture of Armenia, he continued his education as a composer.

However, the vast majority of compatriots your father is known primarily as a songwriter.Was there any turning point when Arno Harutyunovich realized what his creative calling was? Babajanyan: Once, a father, by the middle of X an already more or less famous composer, was invited to work in a movie: the film “The Thunder’s Trive” was released in M, and a couple of years later appeared “Song of the First Love”.

For both paintings, Babajanyan wrote music. And it so happened that the melodies “Dad’s songs said that once on tour in Siberia where he performed a“ heroic ballad ”with an orchestra, walking around the city, met the company of young children who performed a song about Yerevan. Arno Harutyunovich was very pleased that in the distant cold Tomsk they knew and love the composition about his hometown of warm city.

Soon after the success of "The songs of the composition were sounded on radio and television. So by the beginning of X the name Arno Babajanyan was known in our country to almost everyone. Babajanyan: Yes, then a solemn event dedicated to the culture of Azerbaijan was held in the Kremlin Palace. This concert was shown on TV. Mom really liked the performance of one pretty young man.

And our neighbor was the famous Baku composer Asya Sultanova. Mom turned to her with a request: is it possible to invite this gifted singer to visit? Maybe they have a creative alliance with Arno. And once Muslim came to our house, sat behind the piano, performed several Neapolitan songs, Kavatin Figaro, some other works. The rest, as they say, is a story. I liked the artistic council, but the vocalist’s candidacy did not at first arrange.

They doubted: they say, why do we need a young singer, besides from Azerbaijan? He probably also says poorly in Russian. Let some trusted artist fulfill it better, since we have a lot of them. But my father Muslim defended and, as time showed, was absolutely right. The long -term fruitful cooperation of Babajanyan and Magomayev began. After the success of the “Bulgarian” songs followed the “Best City of the Earth”, “Do not rush”, “Be with me”, who brought Magomaev a genuine all -Union fame.

Two major creative personalities, and in addition, one Armenian, and the other Azerbaijani Babajanyan: they easily worked with each other. During the Soviet Union, the national question simply could not be acute by definition - such aspects did not pay attention to, especially such outstanding people as my father and Muslim Mohametovich. Magomaev’s representatives of various nationalities worked in the orchestra - Russians, Armenians, Jews and the Azerian Azya Sultanov mentioned above, one might say, was a member of our family.

Disagreements on ethnic grounds were excluded. It is very bitter that today everything is different between the father and Magomaev was a huge mutual respect, largely based on a professional attitude towards business. Muslim was super -music, so to speak. And the songs that his father composed approached him both by temperament and vocal data.

In a word, in the case of Magomaev and my dad, we are dealing with an almost perfect creative tandem. By the way, the father, creating a song, always knew who would perform it. He very subtly felt the vocal features of a particular artist. Not to mention Joseph Kobzon, who was sometimes jokingly offended, foaming his father: they say, the main hits go to Muslim, and only sometimes something falls to me.

Although the first performer of the famous “Noktyurna”, contrary to common opinion, is Kobzon, not Magomaev. Initially, dad created this work in order to fulfill it on the piano himself. I remember how we traveled with the Silantievsky Orchestra, he went on stage and played this penetrating melody. And once Kobzon told Babajanyan: “Listen, Arno, let's ask Robert, let him write poetry - I really want to perform this song.” To which the father replied: “No, this thing is not necessary to touch.

That's when I don’t have what you want, then do it. ” Indeed, after his father’s death, Joseph Davydovich turned to Rozhdestvensky, who wrote a very piercing text. The first performance of Noktyurna took place, if I am not mistaken, in the year at a concert in the column hall of the House of Unions. This is today the mentioned songs are considered almost folk, but how easily they found the way to a wide listener?

Was the Ponon arose on the part of art councils? Did your father have reproached for frivolity, mischief and propaganda of bourgeois ideals? Babajanyan: You got to the point, this is how sometimes it happened. For example, having once heard the “best city of the Earth” on the radio, Khrushchev was beside himself: “What a disgrace!