The Georgian musician, who studied with Oistrakh and received first prize at the 1970 Sibelius Competition, was 77 years old
Georgian violinist and conductor Liana Isakadze has died at the age of 77. As well as a prominent soloist in Georgia, she conducted the Georgian State Chamber Orchestra and in 1988 was recognised as a People’s Artist of the USSR, at the time the youngest artist to be so named.
Born on 2 August 1946, Isakadze entered music school at the age of seven, where one of her first teachers was Leo Shiukashvili. She gave her first recital aged ten, participating in the Moscow International Festival Competition that same year. The chairman of the festival, David Oistrakh, accepted Isakadze as one of his students at the Moscow Conservatoire without her having to pass the entrance exam, and even insisted she graduate from the Central Music School a year early to take up the position. She graduated in 1968 aged 22, going on to work as Oistrakh’s assistant for two years while continuing to study in his masterclasses. She received the Grand Prix at the Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in 1965, and in 1970 took the first prize at the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, and third place at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow.
In 1971 Isakadze became a soloist with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and ten years later was made head of the Chamber Orchestra of Georgia. She originated the festival ‘Musicians Are Joking’, which were held from 1982 to 1989. Isakadze was also artistic director of various festivals around Georgia, including the Night Serenades in Pitsunda, Open Air Festival in Batumi, and Festival of the Arts in Borjomi.
From 1989 to 1991 Isakadze was also a People’s Deputy of the Soviet Union. She was also named Meritorious Artist of the Georgian SSR (1970), and awarded the State Prize of Georgia three times, in 1975, 1983 and 2002. She also received the Order of Honour of Georgia. For many years she performed on a Stradivari violin from the Russian state collection.
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Writing on Facebook, violin soloist and fellow Georgian Lisa Batiashvili posted this tribute: ‘We say goodbye to the great violinist Mrs Liana Isakadze. She was the first to find her way to Europe and changed the lives of Georgian musicians. It was at this time that I went to Europe with my parents and all this was happening in front of my eyes. Ms Liana established a second home in Germany for the Georgian Chamber Orchestra, which continues to be successful today. Thank you very much.’
Watch Liana Isakadze perform at the 1985 ‘Musicians Are Joking’ festival:
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