Commemorative coin dedicated to 150th anniversary of Alexander Spendiaryan issued

The Central Bank of Armenia puts into circulation the silver collector coin dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Alexander Spendiaryan’s birth.

Alexander Spendiaryan (1871-1928) is a great Armenian composer, conductor, pedagogue, a musical and social activist, People’s Artist of the Armenian SSR (1926).

In 1892-1894, Spendiaryan studied the theory of composition with N. Klenovsky in Moscow, and in 1896-1900 with N. Rimsky-Korsakov in St. Petersburg. He lived in the Crimea, got involved with conductor’s and musical and social activities. As a composer, he was influenced by Russian and Armenian cultures.

Since 1924, Spendiaryan lived in Yerevan. During that period he wrote the “Yerevan Etudes” and completed the heroic-patriotic opera “Almast” (by H. Tumanyan’s poem “The Siege of the Tmouk Castle”, libretto by S. Parnok) – one of the best works of the Armenian music theater.

Spendiaryan played a great role in the formation of the Armenian National Composer School – he enriched Armenian music with new themes, expanded the genres, laid the foundation of the Armenian national symphony. His “Crimean Sketches”, “Three Palms”, “Yerevan Etudes” and other symphonic works are classic samples of Armenian symphonic music.

The Spendiaryan House-Museum was established in Yerevan. The Yerevan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (1933) and Music School No. 1 carry the name of the composer.

Obverse: the monument to Spendiaryan (sculptors: A. Sargsyan, Gհ. Chubaryan, architects: G. Aghababyan, F. Darbinyan, 1953) against the background of the Opera and Ballet Theater building (architect A. Tamanyan, 1932) and a dancer.

Reverse: Spendiaryan’s portrait, note pages of the “Three Palms”, stylized images of a violin, inkwell and palm trees.

Designer: Vardan Vardanyan.

The coin is minted in the Lithuanian Mint.

Technical specification of the collector coin

Face value                    1000 dram
Metal/fineness              silver 9250
Weight                         33,6 g
Diameter                      40,0 mm
Quality                         proof
Edge                            ribbed
Quantity of issue          500 pcs
Year of issue                 2021