[citation needed] Due to Soviet restrictions on artistic expression, he left Armenia for Europe, and from 1963 to 1968 he served as Music Director of the Leipzig Opera and was Guest Conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra.

[citation needed] In 1991 Armenia gained independence, and in the same year Durian returned to serve as the Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Ohan Durian Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra, which he founded, and as Principal Conductor and Artistic Director of the Yerevan Opera Theatre.

[3] Durian invented a musical system which he called Universalism and composed a number of songs and works for orchestra.

In later years, he was a vocal critic of the Armenian government, and appeared at opposition rallies calling for the resignation of the regimes of Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.

[5] Selected compositions include: In many instances Durian was the first conductor to perform symphonic works by Armenian composers.