Artem Kokzhayev (1972-); RUS   

Artem Kokzhayev was born in 1972 in Baku, Azerbaijan into a musical family, his father Mikhail being a composer as well. The younger Kokzhayev began studying piano and composition at the local conservatory, until his family relocated to Armenia in 1988. Settling in Yerevan, he first enrolled in the Tchaikovsky Musical High School, and then in the Yerevan State Conservatory, where he studied composition with Edgar Oganessian and Avet Terterian. Upon graduating, with honors, in 1995, he spent the next two years doing post-graduate work at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, working with composer Alexander Tchaikovsky.

Since completing his studies, Kokzhayev has initiated an active career as a composer. He is a member of the Moscow Composers Union, and is a regular participant in the International Musical Festival, "Moscow Autumn." His Piano Sonata received First Prize in the Armenian-Belgian sponsored "Amadeus" competition. More recently, Kokzhayev's String Quartet was published by the Armenian publishing house, Archesh. We at the Classical Archives are delighted to feature the works of this talented young composer, and look forward to future recordings.

Reviews

"Artem Kokzhayev successfully assimilates the threads of several different traditions of Armenian composition, from Komitas [late 19th c.] to the modern avant-garde; from experiments in serialism to those in minimalism. His musical thinking is fluent, natural, logical, and proceeds in a relaxed manner."

Novoye Vremya (Yerevan, Armenia)