New German book marks life and career of late Georgian composer

The story of one of Georgia's most acclaimed 20th Century composers Aleksi Machavariani (1913-1995) is now available for German readers and classical music lovers.

German publishing house Wolke collaborated with Goethe Institute Georgia member and translator Natia Mikeladze-Bakhsoliani to bring a biography about Machavariani, written by classical music historian Manana Kordzaia, to life.

The new book is named Aleksi Machavariani: The Composer and His Time.

The German language book will be unveiled to the public at a joint presentation by the National Book Centre, Tbilisi State Conservatory and Goethe Institute Georgia tomorrow.

Georgian composer Aleksi Machavariani. Photo from www.matchavariani.ge.

The event, hosted by the Goethe Institute, will also involve the screening of the film A Secret of One Ocean, directed by Nana Kiknadze-Shaduri.

The film about Machavariani was shot in 2013 to mark the 100th birthday of the late Georgian composer.

Kordzaia's work became the first monograph on Machavariani in German language after it was first printed in 2015 by the German publishing house specialising in music literature. The publication received financial support from the Georgian National Book Centre.

The German translation of Kordzaia's work will be presented at the 2016 Leipzig Book Fair. Photo from the Fair.

The monograph will also be presented at the Leipzig Book Fair from March 17-20, 2016.

Born in the central Georgian town of Gori in 1913, Machavariani graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatory in 1936.

The composer created musical scores for theatre plays and ballets including the celebrated 1957 ballet Othello by founder of the Georgian professional ballet Vakhtang Chabukiani.

Machavariani's works also included classical symphonies and string quartets.

The composer served as artistic director of the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra and chaired the Composers Union of Georgia during the Soviet era.

He was awarded the title of the People's Artist of the Soviet Union in 1958 as well as the Georgian Shota Rustaveli State Prize.

Machavariani's international awards included Italian and United States prizes for his music for Othelloand The Knight in the Panther's Skin(1974).

The composer died in 1995 and was buried at Tbilisi's Didube Pantheon for Public Figures.