The program also features "Blitz," a fantasy on Georgian tunes for violin, voice, synthesizer and string orchestra.
By MAXIM REIDER
The artistic director of the Tbilisi State Symphony, Vakhtang Kakhidze, is back in Israel to conduct the Israeli Chamber Orchestra in a program featuring mostly his own pieces. His daughter Anna, who is a pianist and a singer, also participates in the concerts as a soloist.
As one of the leading Georgian conductors and composers, Kakhidze represents the best of his country's culture.
"[My daughter Anna and I] are respectively the second and the third generation of professional musicians in our family," says Kakhidze as he rests after a rehearsal in the lobby of his Jaffa hotel. His late father, Jansug Kakhidze, was a key personality in Georgian culture, an internationally acclaimed conductor, composer and educator who heavily promoted his country's music both at home and abroad.
"But it all started with my grandfather... a fine wine maker and an amateur singer who knew a lot of folk songs and possessed a strong and beautiful tenor. He was even accepted to the Conservatory after performing on a bet together with his friends, a duo from classical Georgian opera Abessalom and Eteri, at the entry exams. But he did not want to become a professional singer and stayed in the wine business. 'In Memoriam,' the first piece to be performed in the concert, is dedicated to his memory."
The program also features "Blitz," a fantasy on Georgian tunes for violin, voice, synthesizer and string orchestra. "The piece is commissioned by Gideon Kremer, and I not only conduct it, but sing solo parts," says Kakhidze.
Anna Kakhidze will sing and play synthesizer. "Anna has successfully graduated from a business school, but it looks like family genes are stronger and she currently studies composition at Tbilisi State Conservatory," smiles the proud father.
Vladimir Reider (violin) and Arie Bar-Droma (viola) also play solo parts.
The concerts take place this evening at 8 p.m. at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art and Friday, April 11 at 10:00 a.m. at Or Akiva.
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