Mikael Leonovich Tariverdiev (also Mikayel Levoni Tariverdian; 15 August 1931 – 25 July 1996) was a Soviet composer of Armenian descent. He headed the Composers' Guild of the Soviet Cinematographers' Union from its inception and is most famous for his movie scores, primarily the score to Seventeen Moments of Spring.
Biography
Mikael Tariverdiev was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR to Armenian parents, but lived and worked in Russia. His father, Levon Tariverdiev, was from Baku but a native of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Tariverdiev wrote over 100 romances and four operas, including the comic opera Count Cagliostro and the mono-opera "The Waiting". However, he is mostly known for his scores to many popular Soviet movies (more than 130 in total), including "Seventeen Moments of Spring" and "The Irony of Fate"—see List of film music by Mikael Tariverdiev.
He received many awards, including the USSR State Prize in 1977 and the Prize of the American Music Academy in 1975. In 1986 he was awarded the title of People's Artist of Russia. In 1990, he won three Nika Awards for Best Composer.
The Best Music prize at the largest Russian National Film Festival Kinotaur is named after Tariverdiev.
On 31 May 1990 Tariverdiev underwent cardiac surgery in the London Royal Hospital; his aortic valve was replaced with an artificial one.