Melikov, Arif (Djangirovich)

Melikov, Arif (Djangirovich), Russian composer; b. Baku, Sept. 13, 1933. He studied the tar (an oriental lute) at the Baku Zeinalla Music Coll. (1948–53) and composition with Kara Karayev at the Gadjibekov Azerbaijan State Cons. (1953–58); in 1965 he joined its faculty. His early music hewed to the tenets of socialist realism, representational and stylistically inoffensive to untutored ears. In his later works, he made use of various modern techniques.

Works

dramatic: bailet :The Legends of Love (Leningrad, March 23, 1961); The Two (1969); Poem of 2 Hearts (1983). musical:Waves (1967). other: Incidental music to plays; film scores. orch.: symphonic poems:Fairy Tale (1957); In Memory ofFizuli (1959); Metamorphoses (1963); Motherland for Voice and Orch. (1964); The Last Mountain Gorge (1976); Remember (1978). other: Flute Concertino (1956); 8 syms.: No. 1 (1958), No. 2 (1969–70), No. 3 for Chamber Orch. (1973–75), No. 4 for Strings (1977), No. 5 (1979), No. 6, Contrasts (1984), No. 7 (1995), and No. 8 (1996–97); 2 Suites (1965); Suite for Folk Orch. (1967); Pictures for Folk Orch. (1967); 8 Pieces (1968); 2 Suites (1970);12 Pieces (1971); Symphonic Dances (1976). chamber: Suite for Violin and Piano (1954); Scherzo for Violin and Piano (1954); Sonata for Solo Violin (1980); Scherzo for 2 Pianos (1983). vocal:Voices of the Earth, cantata (1972); choruses; songs.

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire