Heraclius Alexandres dze Djabadary (french: Héraclius Djabadary, ka, ერეკლე ალექსანდრეს ძე ჯაბადარი, pseud. Amiran d'Alasany; 17 October 1891 – 18 August 1937) was a Georgian composer and pianist who was active throughout Europe up until the 1930s. Djabadary was largely unknown in his homeland during his lifetime and was first discovered by Georgian audiences, then behind the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its ...

, in the 1940s. His music is noted for its fusion of Western classical traditions with folk themes from Georgia, along with the eclectic sounds of the surrounding Caucasus region.

Early life and education

Georgian composer Heraclius Djabadary in youth

Djabadary was born on 17 October 1891 in

Tiflis Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

, the capital city of Georgia, then part of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. In 1905 he entered the

Royal Conservatory of Brussels The Royal Conservatory of Brussels (french: Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles, nl, Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel) is a historic conservatory in Brussels, Belgium. Starting its activities in 1813, it received its official name in 1832. Provid ...

, where he studied under

Arthur De Greef Arthur De Greef may refer to: * Arthur De Greef (composer) Arthur De Greef (10 October 186229 August 1940) was a Belgian pianist and composer. Life and career Born in Louvain, he won first prize in a local music competition at the age of 11 a ...

and

François-Auguste Gevaert François-Auguste Gevaert (31 July 1828 in Huysse, near Oudenaarde – 24 December 1908 in Brussels) was a Belgian musicologist and composer.N. Slonimsky, Ed., ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', 8th ed., Schirmer Books, NY Li ...

. In 1909 he went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

to study composition under the direction of

Richard Heuberger Richard Franz Joseph Heuberger (18 June 1850 in Graz, Austria – 28 October 1914 in Vienna, Austria) was an Austrian composer of operas and operettas, a music critic, and teacher. Heuberger was born in Graz, the son of a bandage manufacturer. ...

and piano under Juliusz Wolfsohn. In 1913, he made his debut in Vienna as a concert pianist with the Tonkünstler Orchestra under the baton of Oskar Nedbal, performing th
"Georgian Rhapsody"
that Djabadary had composed, which was well received. Later in 1913, he returned to Georgia and tried to make a musical career for himself there. However, after the Tsarist authorities decided to draft him into the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

, which he despised, Djabadary had to leave the country again in 1915. After some time in France, Austria, and Switzerland, he settled in Paris in 1923, where gave a number of concerts, but after 1930 completely left the concert activity. In 1936, under the pseudonym Amiran d'Alsany, Djabadary was part of

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadca ...

and SACEM. Djabadary's significant works include th
"Georgian Rhapsody for Piano and Orchestra"
, Piano Concerto in A major, Op. 10 (1921), "Song of the Serpent" (French: La Melopée du Serpent) for flute and orchestra Op. 19, "Tiflisiana" for oboe and orchestra Op. 26. He also authored an opera ''Gulnara'' (1919, based on

Alexander Kazbegi Alexander Kazbegi ( ka, ალექსანდრე ყაზბეგი, ) (1848–1893) was a Georgian writer, famous for his 1883 novel '' The Patricide''. Early life Kazbegi was born in Stepantsminda the great grandson of Kazibek C ...

), as well as a number of smaller compositions, such as th
Nocturne in C minor
and
Variations on a Hungarian Chant
for piano and cello.

Personal life

Djabadary was married to Margit Antonia Bárczy (1877-1934), a Hungarian aristocrat. Djabadary's Georgian Rhapsody was dedicated to her.

Death and legacy

Djabadary died of tuberculosis in

Nice, France Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

. After the composer's death, his brother Shota Djabadary promoted his music, publishing and performing orchestral arrangements of his piano pieces as a conductor. The revival of interest in the work of Djabadary is due to the pianist Henri Goraïeb, who recorded the Georgian Rhapsody and Piano Concerto together with the

Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra The Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra ( lb, Lëtzebuerger philharmoneschen Orchester, french: Orchestre philharmonique du Luxembourg), abbreviated to OPL, is a symphony orchestra based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. The orchestra formerly perfor ...

conducted by

Louis de Froment Louis de Froment (; 5 December 192119 August 1994) was a French conductor. Froment was born into a French noble family in Toulouse, and started his musical studies at the city conservatory. He later attended the ''Conservatoire national supérieu ...

. In 1967, 30 years after his death, Djabadary's remains were transferred from France back to his native

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the Capital city, capital and the List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia (country), Georgia, lying on the ...

and interred at the

Didube Pantheon The Didube Pantheon ( ka, დიდუბის მწერალთა და საზოგადო მოღვაწეთა პანთეონი) is a cemetery in Tbilisi, Georgia, where some of the most prominent writers, artists, s ...

Recordings and criticism

The

American Record Guide The ''American Record Guide'' (''ARG'') is a classical music magazine. It has reviewed classical music recordings since 1935. History and profile The magazine was founded by Peter Hugh Reed in May 1935 as the ''American Music Lover''. It chang ...

has noted that Djabadary's ''Georgian Rhapsody'' "abounds in Oriental colour. Listening to this music we are literally transported back in time to the Georgia long ago." Described as the "most engaging" of Djabadary's works, the ''Georgian Rhapsody'' was favorably compared to the composer's lengthier Piano Concerto in A, which was less well received by some and has been characterized as "half-an-hour of filmish stuff". However, Djabadary's piano concerto has also received some praise, being described as "energetic" and "quite enjoyable, raising Djabadary to the level of a second-rate Saint-Saëns". Alongside Debussy's ''Soirée dans Grenade'' and Gershwin's ''An American in Paris'', Djabadary's "Tiflisiana" has been cited as a vivid example of how history, geography, and local sounds inspire music. In 1962,

Aprelevka Record Plant Aprelevka Record Plant (Russian: Апрелевский завод грампластинок) was a company that manufactured phonograph records. It was located in Aprelevka, Moscow Oblast. History The factory was founded in 1910 by , a Germa ...

released an LP (as Апрелевский Завод – 33Д—10477 and 10478) containing Meri Davitashvili's Fantasy-Concerto in B minor for piano and orchestra (with pianist Gulnara Kavtaradze) and Djabadary's Georgian Rhapsody with pianist Tinatin Gogolashvili, both were conducted by Zakhari Khurodze with the State Symphony Orchestra Of Georgia. In 1980, Djabadary's Rhapsodie Géorgienne Pour Piano Et Orchestre Op. 2 (Georgian Rhapsody), La Mélopée Du Serpent Op. 19 (The Serpent's Melody), Tiflisiana Op. 26 (Tbilissiana), and 3rd Piano Concerto in A major Op. 10 were recorded by

conducting the Orchestre Symphonique de RTL with pianist Henri Goraieb, and released under Voxigrave (as Voxigrave V/30/ST 7240) in 1981, Qualiton by 1988, and

Quantum In physics, a quantum (plural quanta) is the minimum amount of any physical entity (physical property) involved in an interaction. The fundamental notion that a physical property can be "quantized" is referred to as "the hypothesis of quantizati ...

(as Quantum QM 6915) in 1991. In 1984, cellist Pierre Strauch and pianist Gérard Nougarol recorded for the Heraclius Djabadary Society pieces for cello and piano, this included: *Lied in E (Op. 3, No. 1) *Caprice in B-flat minor (Op. 3, No. 3) * "Les moments vécus": **Guiguitte/Caprice in E (Op. 6, No. 2) **Réminiscences in G minor (Op. 6, No. 1) **A.E.K Enigma in F minor (Op. 22) **Caprice for the Right Hand alone in B-flat minor (Op. 19-bis) **Nocturne in C minor (Op. 14) *Sur la tombe de Margit Antonia Bárczy in E minor (Op. 30) *Regrets in F minor (Op. 24) *Variations sur un chant Hongrois in G minor (Op. 23) This recording was released by Qualiton under ST 7421.

References

;Bibliography * ა. ცამციშვილი. ერეკლე ჯაბადარის მუსიკალური მემკვიდრეობა: ��ცხოეთში მოღვაწე ქართველი კომპოზიტორი. 1891—1932// დროშა. — 1960. — No. 12. — გვ.18. * ამირან ცამციშვილი. კომპოზიტორი ერეკლე ჯაბადარი // საბჭოთა ხელოვნება. — 1963. — No. 8. — გვ.49-57. * ნინო ქიქოძე. ლადო გუდიაშვილის ორი უცნობი ესკიზი: [საქ-ს ლიტერატურისა და ხელოვნების ცენტრალურ არქივში დაცული კომპოზიტორისა და პიანისტის ერეკლე ჯაბადარის ოპერა «გულნარას» საფრანგეთში დადგმისათვის შესრულებული ესკიზების შესახებ] // საბჭოთა ხელოვნება. — 1983. — No. 1. — გვ.40-41. * ამირან ცამციშვილი. სამშობლოდან გადახვეწილი ხელოვანი: ��ომპოზიტორ და პიანისტ ერეკლე ჯაბადარის დაბადების 100 წლისთავის გამო// ხელოვნება. — 1991. — No. 11-12. — გვ.38-46.

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