Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness

Alan Hovhaness (/hoʊˈvɑːnɪs/; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and 434 opus numbers. The true tally is well over 500 surviving works since many opus numbers comprise two or more distinct works.

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

Partial list of compositions

Main article: List of compositions by Alan Hovhaness

• 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 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
• 1985 – Symphony No. 60, To the Appalachian Mountains, Op. 396
• 1992 – Symphony No. 66, Hymn to Glacier Peak, Op. 428

Films

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.
• 1957 – Assignment: Southeast Asia. NBC-TV documentary.
• 1962 – Pearl Lang 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.
• 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.