Emanuel Melik-Aslanian

Emanuel Melik-Aslanian (1915–2003) was an Armenian-Iranian composer, classical music theorist and famous pianist. He started playing the piano at the age of 9. When he was 12, he played the piano in the Leon Gregorian Orchestra. When his father saw Emanuel's talent, he decided to study in Europe. In 1928, when he went to Hamburg, Germany and studied music at the city conservatory. His teacher during this period was the famous pianist and composer Conrad Ansorge, who was himself a student of Franz Liszt. After graduating from the Hamburg Conservatory with a degree in piano, he travelled to Berlin, where he studied in the Higher School of Music with the famous and innovative German musicians, Paul Hindemith. In 1953, he returned to Iran, and became a professor at the Higher Conservatory of Music, and gradually, in parallel with teaching, began to create music. Malik Aslanian's first works, written for the piano, are an attempt to find a structure that is compatible with the characteristics of national music while adhering to international standards. Aslanian then slowly went into orchestral and stage work. The most famous and significant work of Malik Aslanian is "The Legend of Creation". His works have been performed many times by the world's great orchestras and the Tehran Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Farhad Meshkat, Heshmat Sanjari and Ali Rahbari. Emanuel Melik-Aslanian died in 2003 at the age of 88 in Tehran.