Hovhannes

Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness was born in Somerville, Massachusetts in 1922. Hovhaness wrote over 67 symphonies. In 1940 his credo read: “I propose to create a heroic, monumental style of composition simple enough to inspire all people, completely free from fads, artificial mannerisms and false sophistications, direct, forceful, sincere, always original but never unnatural.”