Edvard Mirzoyan

Edvard Mirzoyan (1921–2012) was an Armenian composer, considered as an integral part to the "Armenian School" of music composition alongside the composers Arno Babajanian and Alexander Arutiunian. Mirzoyan first enrolled in music at the Yerevan Music School named after A. Spendiarov. He later graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory in 1941 having studied under the Armenian composers Sargis Barkhudaryan and Vardges Talyan (the symphonic poem “Loretsi Sako” forming his graduate thesis work). He was conscripted into the Red Army in 1942, and composed many patriotic and war-related songs. In 1948, Mirzoyan began professorship at Yerevan Conservatory, and became the department head of composition in 1965. In 1952. In the late 1950s, he was elected president of the Armenian Composers’ Union, a position he held until 1991. Mirzoyan's compositional output is relatively small but quite distinguished, combining graceful lyricism with intense drama. With its formal structure and tonal design, his style has been described as Neoclassical, with elements of Armenian folksong always present. Mirzoyan's String Quartet, Cello Sonata, Symphony for Strings and Timpani, and Epitaph for String Orchestra have become notable additions to the repertoire.