4 Reasons to visit the Tsinandali Festival

The Tsinandali Festival is a 15-day classical music festival set in the heart of the Georgian wine country, on the beautiful Tsinandali Estate, and celebrates world-class musicianship from across the globe.

1. World-class classical music

The Tsinandali Festival presents some of the greatest conductors, composers, and performers from across the globe for 15 days of world-class classical music.

The 2019 Festival features performances from an assortment of highly talented musicians, including the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra (VFCO) and the specially formed Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra (PCYO).

Soloists lined up for the 2019 Festival include: violinists Lisa Batiashvili, Renaud Capuçon and Pinchas Zukerman (who also conducts); pianists Nicholas Angelich, Sergei Babayan, Itamar Golan; Nino Gvetadze, Denis Kozhukhin, George Li, Jan Lisiecki, Fazil Say, András Schiff (who also conducts) and Yuja Wang; cellists Gautier Capuçon and Mischa Maisky; clarinetist Martin Fröst; baritone Thomas Hampson; Avi Avital on the mandolin and the conductors Gábor Takács-Nagy, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Omer Meir Wellber and Lahav Shani.

 

2. The world premiere of the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra

Discover emerging talent with the Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra, who give their world premiere performance at the Tsinandali Festival.

The Pan-Caucasian Youth Orchestra (PCYO), established by George Ramishvili, Martin Engstroem and Avi Shoshani (Co-Founders, Tsinandali Festival), along with David Sakvarelidze (General Director, Tsinandali Festival), gives over 80 young musicians from across the Caucasus region—from Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Ukraine—the extraordinary opportunity to train and perform with world-class conductors, coaches and musicians, including the festival’s music director, Gianandrea Noseda.

On September 8, at the Tsinandali Festival, the PCYO will give their premiere performance, a rendition of Mahler’s Resurrection Symphony. They will perform a total of five concerts at the 2019 Festival led by music director Gianandrea Noseda, as well as other world-class conductors Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Omer Meir Wellber and Lahav Shani, and soloists Lahav Shani, Mischa Maisky, Denis Kozhukhin and Yuja Wang.

 

3. Amazing architecture

In between concerts, take a walk through the historic 18-hectare park on the Tsinandali Estate and discover the truly beautiful architecture it has on offer. The Estate is famed for its beauty, and the manor house of Prince Alexander Chavchavadze does not disappoint. Steeped in history, the manor house once hosted discussions of new literary, artistic and musical trends, as well as political and economic issues. It is now presented as a museum, and Georgia’s most visited attraction, with 120,000 visitors each year.

It has recently been beautifully restored and showcases a unique mix of early 19th-century Georgian and European styles.

And speaking of brilliant buildings, two new performance venues have been purpose-built on the Estate in time for the Music Festival—an open Amphitheatre with a retractable roof seating 1,200 people, and a Chamber Concert Hall to seat 600 people.

The Amphitheatre

These venues’ halls have been designed by an international group of designers, including German industrial designer Ingo Maurer, and architect Xavier Fabre who has previously worked on the acoustics of the Philharmonie de Paris and the Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. The frescoes adorning the site belong to the celebrated Georgian artist, Tamara Kvesitadze.

The Chamber concert hall

 

4. The wine

The Tsinandali Estate is known as a fundamental hub for wine in Georgia, as it was on the Estate—approximately 230 years ago—that wine in Georgia was first made and bottled.

Still, to this day, the Estate practises the historic tradition of Georgian winemaking while, at the same time, creating the standards of a modern technological approach. People come from far and wide to tour the beautiful vineyards which have undergone major renovations in recent years but remain true to the high standards once set.