Biography
Initially training as a pianist, Arapov saw his concert career cut short by a hand ailment, which led him to enroll for composition studies at the Petrograd Conservatory in 1923. After completing his course he joined the institution’s teaching staff and rose to a full professorship in 1940. He also chaired its composers’ section, sat on the board of the Composers’ Union, and was awarded the Red Banner of Labour. His works are chiefly expansive in form, programmatic in character, and marked by vivid orchestral color. Having conducted field research into the folk traditions of Armenia, Georgia, Uzbekistan, China, and Korea, he drew on those idioms throughout his own music.