Vaja azarashvili biography of williams

This is the start of a 5-part series highlighting the distinctly engaging music of less well-known composers. I’ve selected their names alphabetically, and this edition’s tranche features composers with surnames beginning respectively with the letters A, B, C, D and E.

First in the spotlight is the Georgian composer Vaja Azarashvili.

Vaja Azarashvili: Nostalgia - YouTube

Born in 1936, he has been described as the ‘lyricist’ of Georgian musical culture. Like many composers of his generation, his music shows the influence of the titans of Russian music, Sergey Prokofiev and Dmitri Shostakovich; but it also evidences his own distinctive musical language that’s rooted in free improvisation and Georgian modality.

Azarashvili has written music for cello throughout his life, so I’ve chosen music featuring that instrument: his Cello Sonata No. 2, written for and dedicated to Eldar Issakadze who premiered the work in Tbilisi in 1976. The energetic Allegrofinale develops into a furious climax before gradually drawing to a quie Composer: Azarashvili, Vaja (b.

1936) | Bachtrack PULOM