Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbilisi.

History

The Tbilisi Conservatoire was founded on 1 May 1917. It was formally recognised by the Russian Musical Society as a conservatoire later that year. A rival conservatoire was also founded in 1921 by D. Arakishvili, and it was not until 1924 that the situation was resolved by the Soviet regime in favour of the original foundation. Since 1947 it has borne the name of Georgian singer Ivane Sarajishvili. Among the first teachers in Conservatoire were students of leading musicians such as

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

Henryk Wieniawski Henryk Wieniawski (; 10 July 183531 March 1880) was a Polish virtuoso violinist, composer and pedagogue who is regarded amongst the greatest violinists in history. His younger brother Józef Wieniawski and nephew Adam Tadeusz Wieniawski were al ...

, Antoine Marmontel, Tchaikovsky, and Ignaz Moscheles, as well as Joseph and Rosina Lhévinne – later founder-teachers at the Juilliard School of Music; Georgian musicians, former alumni of the Moscow Conservatory and St. Petersburg Conservatory – including

Dimitri Arakishvili Dimitri Arakishvili ( ka, დიმიტრი არაყიშვილი) (11 February 1873 – 13 August 1953) was a Soviet and Georgian composer and ethnomusicologist considered one of the founding fathers of modern Georgian music. He wa ...

and Zachary Paliashvili (composers, and founders of modern Georgian music);

Wanda Shiukashvili Wanda is a female given name of Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda."''Behind the Name.'' Accessed on August 12, 2010. The name has long been popular in ...

, A.Tulashvili and A.Virsaladze (pianists); L.Iashvili and L.Shiukashvili (violinists); D.Andghuladze and A.Inashvili (singers); Greek conductor Odysseas Dimitriadis and others. At different times the Tbilisi State Conservatoire was headed by prominent Georgian and Russian musicians, among them Nikolai Nikolaev (1917-1918), Nikolai Tcherepnin (1919-1922), Tamara Vakhvakhishvili (1921-1923), Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov (1924-1925), Zakaria Paliashvili (1918-1919;1922-1923;1930-1931),

(1926-1929) Otar Taktakishvili (1962-1964), Sulkhan Tsintsadze (1965-1984), Nodar Gabunia (1984-2000), Manana Doidjashvili (2000-2012) and Reso Kiknadze (2012-2019). The current rector is Nana Sharikadze. Among the notable graduates of the Conservatoire are: composers Gia Kancheli, S. Nasidze and Dagmara Slianova-Mizandari; conductor Jansug Kakhidze; ethnomusicologist and evolutionary musicologist

Joseph Jordania Joseph Jordania (Georgian იოსებ ჟორდანია, born February 12, 1954 and also known under the misspelling of Joseph Zhordania) is an Australian–Georgian ethnomusicologist and evolutionary musicologist and professor. He is ...

; musicians Elisso Virsaladze, Dimitri Bashkirov, Lev Vlassenko, Tamar Gabarashvili, Regina Gurgenyan, Alexander Toradze, Marine Iashvili, Alexander Korsantia, Giorgi Latso,

Zurab Andjaparidze Zurab Anjaparidze ( ka, ზურაბ ანჯაფარიძე; born April 12, 1928 – April 12, 1997) was a Soviet and Georgian tenor. People's Artist of the USSR (1966). Biography A native of Kutaisi and a graduate of the Tbilisi ...

, Iano Alibegashvili (Tamari), Lado Ataneli, Tamar Atschba and others.

Building

The original building was designed by Aleksander Szymkiewicz and built in 1901-05. Unlike most buildings of the same style in the given period, the conservatoire's column decorated main portal is not centrally located. Rather, along with the main facade it is built near the left corner of the building in order for it to face the main entrance from the Rustaveli Avenue. The style of the building is eclectic in nature. While original two-story building was built with elements of renaissance and

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

, the exterior of the present four-story building is neoclassical and somewhat less ornate. The exterior displays the statue of Anton Rubinstein, a Russian pianist and composer who in 1891 donated an entire income from one of his concerts for the opening of the original conservatoire building.
Tbilisi State Conservatoire The main auditorium and the smaller auditorium are the two auditoriums in the building. The conservatoire's tiny auditorium is renowned for its ornately decorated walls.

Activities

Today the conservatoire teaching staff includes about 200 professors. There are about 400 students. Cultural events taking place at the Conservatoire include: music forums, national competitions, international symposia and scientific conferences, master classes, chamber and symphony concerts and student opera performances at the Conservatoire Opera Studio. Amongst those who have performed at the Conservatoire are Vladimir Horowitz, Egon Petri, Sviatoslav Richter, David Oistrakh, Emil Gilels,

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was wel ...

and others. Since 1995 the State Conservatoire has aligned itself with the two-step European Educational System of studies. Since 2006 the Tbilisi State Conservatoire has become a member of the European Association of Conservatories. From 2005 the Conservatoire joined the Bologna Process with its international student transfer and credit system.

References

Bibliography

*Rusudan Tsurtsumia (ed.), ''Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire'', Tbilisi, 1998 *Arutinov Devil (ed.), ''Vano Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatoire'', Tbilisi, 2000

External links