Alexi Matchavariani

Based on his autobiographical notes, musicologist Manana Kordsaia traces Alexi Matchavariani's musical career. As both a Georgian and Soviet composer, a balancing act that was not always easy, Matchavariani remained true to his musical ideas. The traditional folk music of Georgia, with its rhythmic and melodic elements, influenced Matchavariani's music, and he knew how to combine it with contemporary compositional techniques.

Born in 1913, Georgian composer Alexi Matchavariani is one of his country's most important composers today. He studied at the conservatory in Tbilisi, where he also taught music theory from 1940 onwards. From 1963, he was professor of composition. His extensive oeuvre includes symphonies and chamber music, operas and ballets, as well as romances. He became known in the West for his ballets Othello and The Warrior in the Tiger Skin, among other works. He also attracted considerable attention here with his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, composed in 1950.

"Yesterday's art is a thing of the past, and no matter how great it is, it cannot take on the function of contemporary art. Today's art and today's ideas must be created today." Alexi Matchavariani

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