Alexander Spendiaryan in the Music of the World (Ethnomusicological Observation)

This paper explores the work of Alexander Spendiaryan from the standpoint of modern ethnomusicology. The interdisciplinarity of the field of ethnomusicology allows it to comprehend the position of a musician both within the national musical tradition and in the broader scope of world musical culture. The evolution of a national composer is here studied not only in connection with the concepts of contemporary European, Russian and Armenian classical music, but also in the context of the developing national ideology of the intelligentsia in the Armenian diaspora; the cultural processes reflected in the evolution of the national musical style are also considered. Questions of musical nationalism, folklorism, orientalism, cultural and musical identity are discussed taking into account developments in social and political theories of our time. The paper explores the ways in which, although Alexander Spendiaryan’s formation as a musician stemmed from Western, specifically Russian art music, due to the development of his distinct style the composer can be considered one of the founders of the Armenian national school of music composition.