Mikael Tariverdiev is the winner of eighteen international awards, including those of the American Music Academy (1975) and the Japanese sound recording studio Victor (1978), three times winner of the Nika Award for the best film music (1991, 1994, and 1997), winner of the State Award of the USSR (1977) and Lenin Komsomol (1977), and People's Artist of Russia (1986).

This name is well known to everyone in Russia. Mikael Tariverdiev is mostly famous for his music to popular movies, such as Seventeen Moments of Spring, The Irony of Fate, and others. In addition to having composed music to 132 movies, he is also the author of chamber vocal cycles, four ballets, four operas, and organ music.

Mikael Tariverdiev debuted as a composer in the Big Hall of the Moscow Conservatory: his romances were performed by the glorified chamber singer Zara Dolukhanova. His opera Who Are You? started Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Theater. His comic opera Graff Cagliostro has remained one of the most repertoire operas of this well-known theater for over fifteen years and was a success on tours to various countries.

Music by Mikael Tariverdiev is of two seemingly contradictive qualities. His music is recognizable from the very first notes, no matter what genre it is – be it film or theater music, opera or romance. His music is always marked with its unique and very personal intonation. At the same time the composer was always on the go in intense creative quest for something new.

In the last years of his life Mikael Tariverdiev worked a lot in the field of instrumental music. He headed the Guild of Film Composers of the Union of Cinematographers of Russia, and was the art director of the International charity project New Names.

The highly acclaimed International Organ Competition held in Kaliningrad every other year since 1999 is named after Mikael Tariverdiev.