Tsinandali Festival: inaugural event to bring star performers, pan-Caucasian youth orchestra to Georgia
A historical estate was restored to host the event in Tsinandali, in Georgia’s east. Photo: Tsinandali Festival.
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Internationally renowned musical artists and a youth orchestra bringing together performers from across the Caucasus will make the maiden edition of the Tsinandali Festival in Georgia’s east an occasion to celebrate later this year.
With a headlining roster including cellist Mischa Maisky, violinist Lisa Batiashvili and conductor Gianandrea Noseda, the festival aims to occupy a major spot on the regional calendar from the start.
With daytime and evening concerts at a notable historical estate in Tsinandali, in Georgia’s winemaking Kakheti province, the acclaimed artists invited by organisers will showcase their talent over 15 days of shows.
A preview for the event said a “600-seat Chamber Music Hall and a 1200-seat Amphitheatre of the state-of-the-art acoustics and architecture” would host both performers and their audience.
Along with Maisky, Batiashvili and Noseda, the stage in Georgia’s east will be set for conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste, British pianist Andras Schiff and Israeli conductor Lahav Shani, among other acts.
In addition to their shows, the maiden edition of the festival will be marked with the launch of the Pan Caucasian Youth Orchestra, bringing together musicians aged between 18-29 under the guidance of Noseda, who is also musical director of the event.
The symphony group will aim to combine talents of performers from across the region, with “five weeks in an intense orchestra training program”.
The festival itself is established with focus on regional promotion of music and will also aim to create “rare opportunities for young musicians from the Caucasus and neighbouring countries”.
Organisers promised to host the latter in seminars and master classes led by “some of the brightest names in today’s classical music”.
Aiming to become an annual occurrence, it is founded by a group including George Ramishvili, Chairman of the board of the Silk Road Group, Martin Engstroem, co-founder of the Verbier Festival and Avi Shoshani, Secretary General of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra the co-founder of the Verbier Festival.
The maiden festival will open in Tsinandali on 8 September.