Eminent Georgian Female Composer Receives Another Award
The Best Variety Art Composer of the Year, owner of the Order or Honor and Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi: to this long list, the special award of the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection, Priestess of Art, was added on May 11. The lucky recipient? Well-known composer Marika Kvaliashvili, who was conferred this latest award for her special contribution to the development of Georgian art.
The granddaughter of Maro Tarkhnishvili, a well-known Georgian performer of folk songs who also happened to be the first female choirmaster, Marika Kvaliashvili has a special talent running through her genes. She founded the project “Propaganda of Georgian Songs” aiming at the popularization of Georgian songs in all regions of Georgia, as well as at trying to discover talented children. Kvaliashvili, a member of the Georgian Composers’ Union, is a genuine patriot. To prove this, she is the author of odes dedicated to every region of Georgia. She worships everything national: Georgian language, land, and traditions, and tries to preserve them as much as she can. Besides the patriotic theme, she is the author of variety and children’s songs.
Another leitmotif of Marika (Mariko) Kvaliashvili’s creativity is romance. Nukri Kapanadze is an indelible performer of her song “If only you smile at me,” based on the verse of Lilly Nutsubidze. Many more of Kvaliashvili’s songs are sung by men and ensembles. One of the most popular songs of hers is “Heart, please wait a bit more,” based on the verse of Dodo Gvishiani and sung by legendary Nani Bregvadze, joined later by her daughter, the famous Eka Mamaladze, and her granddaughter, Natalia Kutateladze. The late Gogi Dolidze, indelible performer of Georgian songs, was one of her favorites. The songs “Oh, you Futile Transient World”, to the verse of Moris Potskhishvili, and “Once upon a Time”, to the verse of Inola Gurgulia, sung by Gogi Dolidze, belong to Kvaliashvili.
In 2010, Kvaliashvili’s star was unveiled in front of the Tbilisi Concert Hall.
“This award, Priestess of Art, is another example of appreciation from the government. It fills me with a dual feeling of gratitude and embarrassment,” the composer modestly told GEORGIA TODAY.
Kvaliashvili was born in 1937, in Tbilisi. Together with Rusudan Sebiskveradze, Nunu Gabunia, Nunu Dughashvili, Inola Gurgulia, Eter Chelidze - prominent composers of her generation - she has contributed a lot to Georgian melodies, which will remain timeless.
To the question, where she gets her inspiration from, the composer tells us: “When something happens that touches me, be it good or bad news, it is always reflected in my creativity. Nevertheless, if I am in a calm mood, I read books and get inspiration from them. As for the absolutely necessary circumstance that I need as a precondition for my working process, it is a quiet night, when there are no guests, no calls, no noise at all. This is when my songs are born.”
Besides her musical creations, Kvaliashvili also writes short stories. Her book “Life is worth it” was published in 2016. Notably, her niece, Eka Kvaliashvili, is one of Georgia’s eminent female singers. Nuka Kvaliashvili, Eka’s daughter, is a very successful young singer who is predicted a great creative future. So, the beautiful tradition of the big musical family continues. GEORGIA TODAY congratulates Marika Kvaliashvili on this reward, and wishes her longevity, health and many more beautiful songs!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3DFkLXWOks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FPYXYD4nnu4
Maka Lomadze