Baroque Festival Set to Wow Audiences in Tbilisi

Tbilisi is ready to host the first Baroque Festival in the Caucasus which will bring together outstanding musicians from across Georgia and Europe. Concerts of many well-known musicians will take place on the small stage of Rustaveli Theatre from November 13 to December 6.

The Tbilisi Baroque Festival is a unique opportunity to enjoy Baroque music played by means of old-fashioned instruments. Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra Georgian Sinfonietta is organizing the Tbilisi Baroque Festival with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia. Georgian Sinfonietta is the only academic ensemble of old music in the region. It has already attracted the attention of the best concert halls of the world. However, during the Festival it will perform along with the greatest musicians from Spain, Italy, Germany, Poland and other countries.

According to Giorgi Kerelashvili, artistic director of the Sinfonietta Orchestra, Baroque music festivals have become very popular in Europe in the past 30 years. “Unfortunately, people in Georgia do not know much about this music, but on the other hand our festival will give the audience the opportunity to enjoy and get know new music from a seemingly familiar era,” noted Kerelashvili.

The festival itself took several years to prepare. Konstantine Kasradze, director of the Sinfonietta Orchestra, pointed out that the festival will bring to Georgia outstanding Baroque music artists from Europe; it took several years to coordinate their schedules and gather them all together. The Tbilisi Baroque Festival will host 13 guests, amongst whom will be Sergio Azzolini (Italy), Christine Busch (Germany), and Pawel Kotla (Poland / England), with the first concert held under the guidance of world-renowned conductor Jordi Savall.

One of the distinguishing features of the festival is that the music will played on ancient instruments. “Perhaps the audience will not note any difference in appearance between modern and old-fashioned instruments, but for the musicians themselves it is a big difference, for example, ancient instruments are heavier than new models. But the old-fashioned ones have a special sound which will undoubtedly be noticeable to audiences,” said Kerelashvili.

“The program that we’ll play in Georgia will consist of the most beautiful works of the greatest writers of the Baroque era. The musicians of the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra Georgian Sinfonietta are wonderful, perhaps they have not played Baroque music for many years, but they have the appropriate skills and energy to it,” said Jordi Savall, famous conductor. “Baroque music is very easy to understand: no special education is needed to understand it. This music speaks directly to our hearts,” he added.

Eka Karsaulidze