Alexander Melik-Pashayev joined the Bolshoy Theatre Chorus and Orchestra in 1931, after studying with Nikolai Tcherepnin and Alexander Gauk and leading the Tbilisi Opera. He replaced Nikolai Golovanov as the companyÂs chief conductor in 1953, and did much to extend its repertoire with both new works and operas from the western canon. As with his predecessors Samosud and Golovanov, his reign came to an unexpected end in 1962, when he was summarily replaced by Evgeny Svetlanov. He died two years later.
