Andria Balanchivadze : Nocturne (1948)

Phillip Sear plays an evocative mid20th c. nocturne by the Georgian composer Andria Balanchivadze (190692). The Georgian composer Andria Balanchivadze (ანდრია მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე, Андрей Мелитонович Баланчивадзе, 190692) was the younger brother of the celebrated choreographer George Balanchine (originally Giorgi Balanchivadze). Andria B was actually born in St. Petersburg, and studied at the conservatory there, and also in Tbilisi. In 1942 he became a professor at the Tbilisi conservatory, and thereafter became an influential figure in Georgian music, including a spell as the artistic director of the Georgian state symphony orchestra. You can read much more about his life and works here: . This piece is a really fine nocturne, published by the Georgian state music publishing house in Tbilisi, and very kindly brought back by viewer who had a recent holiday there.