GEORGIA SPOTLIGHT
Georgian art embodies a distinctive power, shaped by melancholy, inner strength and themes of homeland, loss, pride and resistance. It is both deeply rooted and strikingly modern. Artists such as the violinist Lisa Batiashvili and the writer Nino Haratischwili embody this spirit in compelling ways. Georgia is also in the political spotlight because of its ongoing struggle for democracy and freedom. For the Dresdner Philharmonie, this is an opportunity to shine a light on Georgian music and culture in its programme.
Together with the composer and conductor Nikoloz Rachveli, Lisa Batiashvili has created a multimedia programme inspired by Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights, tracing stages of life from Tbilisi to Berlin and Paris to Buenos Aires. Music and projection, conceived for this unique project by screenwriter and director Teo Jorbenadze, combine to create a cinematic Gesamtkunstwerk, which will later also be presented at Beethovenfest Bonn.
In another concert, she will perform Sibelius’s Violin Concerto and introduce the young pianist Sandro Nebieridze, whom she supports through her foundation. He will perform a work by Giya Kancheli, Georgia’s most internationally renowned composer.
Why are we putting Georgia in the spotlight? Artistic director Frauke Roth gives her personal insight – listen here:
Nino Haratischwili, one of the leading voices in contemporary Georgian literature, will be reading excerpts from her latest novel – due to be published shortly – for the first time, exclusively for the Dresden audience. Together with the Georgian pianist David Khrikuli, she will create a wonderful dialogue between literature and music.
This is what Nino Haratischwili has to say about her project in Dresden:
