Haig Zacharian (born 8 May 1952), also written in Albanian as Hajg Zaharian or Hajg Zaharjan, is an Albanian composer and music educator of Armenian descent. He has written chamber, choral, instrumental, vocal-symphonic, stage and film music, and has taught composition and harmony at the University of Arts, Tirana.[2][3] Zacharian is also known for his film music, including soundtracks for Albanian films produced by the former Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re.[4][5]
Haig Zacharian | |
|---|---|
| Hajg Zaharian | |
| Born | 8 May 1952 Durrës, Albania |
| Education | Higher Institute of Arts, Tirana |
| Occupations | Composer, music educator |
| Known for | Chamber music, choral music, film scores |
| Spouse | Ana Zacharian[1] |
| Awards | Artist i Merituar |
Early life and education
editZacharian was born in Durrës, Albania, on 8 May 1952, into a family of Armenian origin.[2][3] He began learning piano, music theory and harmony at the elementary music school of his native city at the age of six.[2]
He studied composition at the Higher Institute of Arts in Tirana, today the University of Arts, Tirana, in the class of composer Tonin Harapi.[2] An Albanian Heritage biographical entry, citing the Fjalor enciklopedik shqiptar, gives his graduation year as 1974.[3]
Career
editAfter graduation, Zacharian worked from 1973 to 1977 as artistic director of amateur ensembles in Fierzë in northern Albania.[2] He returned to Durrës in 1977, where he worked with amateur ensembles and choirs at the city's youth centre.[2] From 1980 to 1986 he taught music history, orchestration, harmony and analysis at the Jan Kukuzeli music high school in Durrës.[2]
Between 1986 and 1992 Zacharian worked as a freelance composer. In 1993 he was appointed head of the Department of Theory and Composition at the Academy of Arts in Tirana, where he later taught composition and harmony.[2][3] From 1998 to 2009 he served as president of ALBAUTOR, the Albanian Society of Composers and Authors.[2]
The University of Arts, Tirana included Zacharian among former faculty members honoured with a certificate of recognition during the gala concert for the 60th anniversary of the Faculty of Music.[6]
Music
editZacharian has composed works in several musical genres, including instrumental, choral, vocal, orchestral, stage and film music.[3][7] His works have been performed in Albania and abroad, including in Macedonia, Switzerland, Italy and Austria, and some were commissioned by the Albanian section of the International Society for Contemporary Music.[2]
Albanian Heritage, citing the Albanian encyclopedic dictionary, describes him as a composer active in many forms and genres, including songs, chamber and instrumental music, vocal-symphonic works, orchestral works and stage music.[3] The same source identifies the ballet Legjenda e lules Honinë as a stage work from 1987.[3]
After the 1990s, Zacharian's work has been described as focusing more strongly on chamber music and contemporary compositional techniques.[4][7]
Film music
editZacharian has composed music for numerous Albanian films. Albanian Heritage states that he collaborated on 27 films, while a 2022 article in Shqiptarja.com states that he became especially known in the 1970s and 1980s for writing soundtracks for films made by Kinostudio Shqipëria e Re.[3][8] The Albanian National Film Archive lists films under the composer name Hajg Zaharjan.[5]
Selected film scores include:
- Ilegalët (1976)[4]
- Dollia e dasmës sime (1978)[4]
- Yjet mbi Drin (1978)[4]
- Dorina (1979)[4]
- Një natë pa dritë (1981)[4]
- Njeriu i mirë (1982)[4]
- Dora e ngrohtë (1983)[8]
- Kohë e largët (1983)[4]
- I paharruari (1984)[4]
- Taulanti kërkon një motër (1984)[8]
- Pranverë e hidhur (1985)[4]
- Tre ditë nga një jetë (1986)[4]
- Familja ime (1987)[4]
- Flutura në kabinën time (1988)[8]
- Djali elastik (1989)[4]
- Maya (2010)[4]
In 2025, the Central State Film Archive hosted the presentation of Echo of a Distant Time, a piano album curated by Ardita Bufaj and dedicated to Zacharian's film music. The event included performances by pianists Ardita Bufaj and Merita Balliu, with Xhovana Marku on oboe.[4]
Selected works
edit- Legjenda e lules Honinë, ballet (1987)[3]
- Temë me variacione për piano / Theme with Variations for Piano[9]
- Në gjurmët partizane (1973), listed in the University of Arts archive[10]
- Hakun tend se lem pa marr (1974), listed in the University of Arts archive[10]
- Këngët tona (1978), listed in the University of Arts archive[10]
Recordings
editHonours
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Ana Zacharian". Facebook. Retrieved 24 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Haig Zacharian". International Centre for Contemporary Music, University of A Coruña. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Hajg Zaharian". Albanian Heritage Conservation Foundation (in Albanian). 8 May 2026. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 "Haig Zacharian's Music Shines in Album "Echo of a Distant Time"". RTSH. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 "Hajg Zaharjan". Arkivi Qendror Shtetëror i Filmit (in Albanian). Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "Koncerti Gala me rastin e 60 Vjetorit të krijimit të FM". Universiteti i Arteve (in Albanian). Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "ALC 0020 Shqipëria Në art: Albanian Piano Works booklet" (PDF). Aulicus Classics. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Kabashi, Gëzim (15 May 2022). ""Dora e ngrohtë" e kompozitorit Haig Zacharian në Akademinë e Shkencave". Shqiptarja.com (in Albanian). Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 "ALC 0020 Shqipëria Në art: Albanian Piano Works". Aulicus Classics. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Duke shfletuar sipas Autorit "Zacharian, Haig"". Arkiva e BSHUA, Universiteti i Arteve (in Albanian). Retrieved 22 June 2026.
- ↑ "70-Th Birthday Anniversary Of The Famous Composer Hajg Zacharian". Honorary Consul of Armenia in Albania. 28 May 2022. Retrieved 22 June 2026.
External links
edit- Haig Zacharian at the International Centre for Contemporary Music
- Hajg Zaharjan at the Albanian National Film Archive
- Zacharian, Haig at the University of Arts, Tirana archive