Leon Wardanian

The Armenian composer Leon Wardanian remains a great mystery. Almost nothing is known about his life, education or later career, and even his dates of birth and death have so far remained unidentified. His Armenian origin, however, can be regarded as certain. Apart from his surname, this is also confirmed by the pianist Walter Georgii, who explicitly referred to him in 1925 as a “young Armenian”.
The only compositions by Wardanian known to have been published are a number of piano pieces issued by the renowned Berlin publishing house Schlesinger in 1921 and 1922. His op. 3 consists of the two pieces Walzerepisode and Sommernacht, while his op. 4 was published under the title Zwei Gedichte für Klavier.
In 1925 the distinguished pianist and music writer Walter Georgii mentioned Wardanian in his article “Die Klaviermusik der letzten Jahrzehnte” in the Neue Musik-Zeitung. Georgii wrote:

“Our knowledge of Romanian, Greek, and Turkish music is also in a poor state. A young Armenian named L. Wardanian has published piano pieces with Schlesinger. While the ‘Two Poems op. 4’ (1922) desperately try to sound modern, ‘Walzerepisode’ and ‘Sommernacht’ op. 3 (1921) are more impressive as rather superficial, yet pleasing and not too impersonal music. Due to their wide fingering and rich leaping technique, they require a skilled player.”

Wardanian’s music was also reviewed elsewhere. In 1924 the Darmstädter Tagblatt discussed his op. 3 and op. 4 and described the four pieces as “Salonstücke moderner Prägung” – salon pieces of modern character. The reviewer praised their grace and effectiveness, but also suggested that some of the more dissonant passages appeared to have been added primarily for the sake of sounding modern. This assessment is remarkably similar to Georgii’s judgment of the following year and suggests that Wardanian’s published music was perceived as accessible salon-style piano music employing some elements of contemporary harmonic language.
An important additional work survives in manuscript. In my collection is Wardanian’s autograph manuscript of the Fantasia (quasi Sonatina) for piano, op. 2, probably composed around 1920 or 1921. The work is dedicated to the distinguished pianist Leonid Kreutzer. Kreutzer had lived and worked in Berlin since 1908 and was appointed professor at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik in 1921. The dedication therefore provides another possible connection between Wardanian and the Berlin musical world. It is conceivable that Wardanian studied privately with Kreutzer or at least knew him personally, although no documentary proof of such a relationship has yet been found.
The Berlin connection is strengthened further by the dedications of Wardanian’s published works. The second piece of op. 3 is dedicated to “my friend Michel Aroutchian”. This person can almost certainly be identified as the Armenian artist and stage designer Mikael Avet Arutchyan (1897–1961). Arutchyan studied at Berlin University from 1921 to 1923 before moving to Paris and later, in 1925, to Yerevan. The dedication therefore does not point to Wardanian living in Yerevan around 1920, as might initially be assumed, but rather supports the possibility that the two men met in Berlin.
Op. 4 is dedicated to a certain “Asta Berberian”. No reliable biographical information about this person has yet been found. The surname Berberian is Armenian, however, and the dedication may indicate that Wardanian moved within a circle of Armenian artists or students in Berlin during the early 1920s.
Several independent clues therefore point towards Berlin as an important centre of Wardanian’s activities around 1920–1923: his works were published by the Berlin firm Schlesinger, his op. 2 was dedicated to the Berlin-based pianist Leonid Kreutzer, and his friend Mikael Arutchyan was living in Berlin at exactly the time when op. 3 appeared. Nevertheless, Wardanian’s name has so far been found neither in the Berlin address books nor in the surviving lists of students enrolled at the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. It therefore remains uncertain whether he was permanently resident in Berlin, studied there privately, or stayed in the city only temporarily.
The designation “young Armenian” used by Walter Georgii suggests that Wardanian was still relatively young in the early 1920s, but there is currently no reliable basis for estimating his exact year of birth. Likewise, no information has yet been found concerning his family, earlier musical education, later compositions or subsequent life.

For the moment, Leon Wardanian remains one of the most elusive Armenian composers active in Germany during the early 1920s. His surviving works and their dedications nevertheless provide a small but intriguing glimpse into the artistic networks connecting Armenian musicians and artists with Berlin during that period.

In my possession is the autograph manuscript of the "Fantasia (quasi Sonatina) for piano op.2" by Leon Wardanian. The work is dedicated to the distinguished pianist Leonid Kreutzer. The work was very likely composed in 1920/21.