Symphony No. 1 , Op. 17 , '' Exile '' is the first symphony by the American composer Alan Hovhaness . The piece was composed in 1936 and was premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra under the conductor Leslie Heward in 1939 . The work commemorates the genocide of the Armenian people , including Hovhaness 's paternal family , during the Ottoman Turkish occupation of World War I . The symphony is dedicated to English writer and philosopher Francis Bacon
genocide
Armenian Genocide
Symphony No. 1 (Hovhaness)