Prized violinist Lisa Batiashvili launches foundation for supporting young Georgian artists
The award-winning violinist met talented young performers in Georgia during her performances in her home country over the recent years, including the 2019 Tsinandali Festival. Photo: Lisa Batiashvili Foundation.
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Internationally recognised Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili has announced the launch of a foundation aimed at supporting young musical talent from her country, with the Munich-based organisation set to help artists benefit from opportunities for their creative development.
German-based Batiashvili, honoured with prizes for her live performances and recordings, announced the creation of the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation to her social media followers on Wednesday, revealing the organisation would be based in Munich.
Set to be "focused on supporting highly gifted young Georgian musicians" and helping them "develop their musical path, in their own individual ways", the initiative was inspired by the ECHO Klassik Award-winning performer's recent experiences back in her home country.
Batiashvili told her fans she had met "some amazingly talented young artists" in her trips to perform in Georgia, and realised the timing was right for a project to support them "on a regular basis".
The artist cited her own experience of meeting "leading teachers" and "fantastic musicians" after her move to Germany for developing a career in music, and stressed the importance of up-and-coming talent finding themselves in the right surroundings for professional development.
Batiashvili said she and her team would share further details about the project in the coming days. The website for the foundation has already been launched with more details about the initiative.
The Georgian violinist is widely recognised in Germany, with a 2017 nomination for Artist of the Year award by a leading classical music review magazine Gramophone and two ECHO Klassik Awards.
In 2019 she was selected as artistic director of the high-profile Audi Summer Concerts series, and was artist in residence for last year's Rheingau Music Festival.
While various Georgian festivals and competitions have been postponed in recent weeks, classical music enthusiasts can look forward to the second edition of the Tsinandali Festival in the country's sunlit eastern province of Kakheti later this year, with major artists like Martha Argerich and Lisa Batiashvili in the roster.
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A collaboration of two Georgian musical artists based in Europe has resulted in a music video released to cheer up those in self-isolation, with violinist Lisa Batiashvili and singer-songwriter Katie Melua performing in the edit where photographs of their fans also appear.
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