Classical Music

Reminiscence of the famous Georgian conductor Djansug Kakhidze on the occasion of his 80th anniversary two years ago. He belonged to the small but highly prestigious group of East European conductors who set up a cultural counterdraft to the political conflicts in the times of cold war. He conducted almost every A class symphony orchestra of his hemisphere and became a much-vaunted advocate of late romantic orchestral repertoire. Mvravinsky adored him for his Tchaikovsky interpretations and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called him respectfully „the Georgian Karajan“. And indeed, although most comparisons go lame there were some similarities: the economical gestures, the endless working on sound perfection, the passion for big dynamics and a great affection for the Golden Age of classic and romantic music.

Reminiscence of the famous Georgian conductor Djansug Kakhidze on the occasion of his 80th anniversary two years ago. He belonged to the small but highly prestigious group of East European conductors who set up a cultural counterdraft to the political conflicts in the times of cold war. He conducted almost every A class symphony orchestra of his hemisphere and became a much-vaunted advocate of late romantic orchestral repertoire. Mvravinsky adored him for his Tchaikovsky interpretations and the Neue Zürcher Zeitung called him respectfully „the Georgian Karajan“. And indeed, although most comparisons go lame there were some similarities: the economical gestures, the endless working on sound perfection, the passion for big dynamics and a great affection for the Golden Age of classic and romantic music. But other than Karajan he did not only put most of his emphasis on the sheer beauty of the orchestral sound but also investigated the disaccords in the music and did not hesitate to unfold it.

In 1961 the then twenty-nine-year-old Yevgeny Yevtushenko published a poem entitled Babi Yar in the Literaturnaya gazeta. Babi Yar was the name of a ravine on the outskirts of Kiev which in 1941 had been the scene of a mass execution where, within the space of thirty-six hours, some 34.000 Jewish men, women and children were shot by a special unit of the German SS. In his poem Yevtushenko used the National Socialists‘ act of genocide as the starting-point of an attack on anti-Semitism in general, which he pilloried as a timeless evil that was widespread throughout the world, but which, he implied, was especially rife in Russia. Few Russian composers of the past were above reproach as far as anti-Semitism was concerned. Of these, the two that spring most immediately to mind are Rimsky-Korsakov and Shostakovich.

This album is dedicated to two masterpieces of Russian film music. It is also a reminiscence to Saulius Sondeckis, one of the figureheads of the former Soviet Union chamber music scene, who died last year, and to Georgy Sviridov, whose 20th anniversary of death is around the corner next year.

CUGATE CLASSICS is pleased to release the complete symphonic works of the Georgian composer GIYA KANCHELI plus “Light Sorrow” and “Mourned By The Wind”, all in newly remastered versions. Conducted by DJANSUG KAKHIDZE. GIYA KANCHELI (1935 – 2019) was and still is the best-known Georgian composer, celebrated for his mastery of silence and his (deceptive) simplicity. KANCHELI’s career as classical composer started in the 1960s after first attempts with chansons and popular songs, his first symphony was accomplished and premiered in 1967 in Tbilisi, conducted by DJANSUG KAKHIDZE.

CUGATE CLASSICS is pleased to release the complete symphonic works of the Georgian composer GIYA KANCHELI plus “Light Sorrow” and “Mourned By The Wind”, all in newly remastered versions. Conducted by DJANSUG KAKHIDZE. GIYA KANCHELI (1935 – 2019) was and still is the best-known Georgian composer, celebrated for his mastery of silence and his (deceptive) simplicity. KANCHELI’s career as classical composer started in the 1960s after first attempts with chansons and popular songs, his first symphony was accomplished and premiered in 1967 in Tbilisi, conducted by DJANSUG KAKHIDZE.