Andria Balanchivadze

Andria Balanchivadze studied at Tbilisi State Conservatoire and Saint Petersburg Conservatory. Training under Mikhail Ippolitov-Ivanov, Nikolai Tcherepnin and Sargis Barkhudaryan is recorded. Meri Davitashvili, Rezo Lagidze and Archil Chimakadze are recorded as having studied under Andria Balanchivadze. The recorded working language is Russian. The field of work recorded is music and film. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are theatre music, symphonic music, opera and ballet. Employment is recorded with Tbilisi State Conservatoire. Distinctions recorded are State Stalin Prize, 1st degree, Order of Lenin, Hero of Socialist Labour and Order of the Badge of Honour.

• Name — Andria Balanchivadze • Born — 1 June 1906 • Birthplace — Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire • Died — 28 April 1992 • Place of death — Tbilisi, Georgia • Occupation — Composer • Awards — Hero of Socialist Labor

Born in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, he graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatoire in 1927 and Leningrad Conservatory in 1931, where he studied with Pyotr Ryazanov. Upon his return to Georgia, he became the musical director of several theatres from 1931 to 1934. Having barely survived Joseph Stalin's purges, he became a professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1942 and served as an artistic director of the Georgian State Symphony from 1941 to 1948. He became a major influence in musical politics as chair (1953), and first secretary (1955–1961, 1968–1972) of the Union of Georgian Composers. Balanchivadze’s numerous symphonies, pianoforte concertos, and compositions for the stage heavily contributed to modern Georgian classical music. He also authored the first Georgian ballet, The Heart of the Mountains (1936). He was granted the titles of the People's Artist of the Georgian SSR in 1957, People's Artist of the USSR in 1968, and awarded several prizes, including the Stalin Prize in 1944 and the Shota Rustaveli State Prize in 1969.