Sulkhan Tsintsadze (23 August 1925 in Gori

Gori, Georgia

Gori is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district. The name is from Georgian gora , that is, "heap", or "hill"...

 — 15 September 1991 in Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

) was one of Georgia

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

's foremost composer

Composer

A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

s.

Education

Tsintsadze studied the cello until 1942 with E.N. Kapelniski in Tbilisi

Tbilisi

Tbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form T'pilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...

 at the Gymnasium of Music. He furthered his studies of the cello at the Conservatory of Tblisi with K. Minjar. From the years 1945 to 1953 he went to the Moscow Conservatory to study the cello with Semyon Matveyevich Kozolupov and composition with Semyon Semyonovich Bogatyryov.

Career

He began his musical career in the 1940s as the cellist in the Georgian State String Quartet. His first composition, based on Georgian folksongs and being a collection of miniatures for string quartet

String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string players – usually two violin players, a violist and a cellist – or a piece written to be performed by such a group...

, was an immediate success. He also wrote several opera

Opera

Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...

s, ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

s, symphonies

Symphony

A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...

 and concerto

Concerto

A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...

s, but it was his compositions for string quartet which came to take pride of place amongst his works and which made a notable contribution to Georgian music. Tsintsadze's compositions are based on the traditional forms as well as styles and characteristics used by composers such as Shostakovich and Shebalin. Georgian folklore is ever present in his music.

Sulkhan Tsintsadze was one of Georgia's leading composers. He was awarded the People's Artist

People's Artist

People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....

 of Georgia (1961) and People's Artist of the USSR

People's Artist of the USSR

People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...

 (1987) titles and was a holder of the USSR Stalin Prize (1950), Shota Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli

Shota Rustaveli was a Georgian poet of the 12th century, and one of the greatest contributors to Georgian literature. He is author of "The Knight in the Panther's Skin" , the Georgian national epic poem....

 Prize (1981), Z. Paliashvili Prize (1977).

Compositions

• Three Miniatures for string quartet (1945) Duration: 6'

1. Lale
2. Indi-Mindi
3. Sachidao
   • String Quartet No. 1 (1947) 28'
   • Cello Concerto No. 1 (1947) 20'
   • Violin Concerto No. 1 (1947)
   • Two Pieces for viola and piano (1948) 7'

Khorumi, Georgian Dance

Romance

• String Quartet No. 2 (1948) 28'
• Piano Concerto No. 1 after Georgian Themes (1949) 20'
• Fantasy for piano and orchestra; revision of Piano Concerto No. 1 after Georgian Themes (1949)
• Five Pieces on Folk Themes for cello and piano (1950) Duration: 10'

1. Villain's Song on a Carriage
2. Tchonguri (Chonguri)
3. Sachidao
4. Nana
5. Dance Tune
   • String Quartet No. 3 (1951) 30'
   • Suite for string quartet (1951) 15'
   • Symphony No. 1 (1952) 28'
   • The Golden Fleece, opera after the saga of the argonauts (1953); libretto by Ira Gelovani. 130'
   • Fantasy for piano and orchestra (1954) Duration: 20'
   • The Treasure of the Blue Mountain, children's ballet in three acts (1954); libretto by Ira Gelovani. 100'
   • Suite from the ballet "The Treasure of the Blue Mountain" (1954)
   • Music to the Film "The Dragon-Fly" (1954)
   • Suite from the music to the Film "The Dragon-Fly" (1954) 18'
   • String Quartet No. 4 (1955) 30'
   • Suite No. 3 for string quartet (1955) 15'
   • Farewell-Song, cantata after Yelena Drushima for solo voices, chorus and orchestra (1956)
   • Demon, ballet in three acts after Michail Lermontov (1958); libretto by V. Tsabukiani; first performance in 1961 in Tblisi. 130'
   • Suite from the ballet "Demon" (1958) 30'
   • Seventeen Miniatures for string quartet (1961) 40'
   • String Quartet No. 5 (1962) 32'
   • Symphony No. 2 (1963)
   • The Spider's Web, operetta (1963)
   • Cello Concerto No. 2 (1964) 36'
   • Georgian Melodies for cello and piano (1967) 26'
   • String Quartet No. 6 (1967) 18'30"
   • Singing in the Forest, operetta (1967); libretto by Lewan Tsubabrya
   • Violin Concerto No. 2 (1967) 28'
   • Piano Concerto No. 2 (1968)
   • Symphony No. 3 (1969) 25'
   • Immortality, oratorio after M. Pozshivili for mezzo-soprano, chorus and orchestra (1969) 34'
   • String Quartet No. 7 "To the Memory of Bela Bartok" (1970)
   • Twenty-Four Preludes for piano (1971) 45'
   • The Hermit, opera in one act after Ilja Tshavtshavadze (1972); libretto by Pjotr Grusinsky; first performance in 1972 in Tblisi. 45'
   • Antique Sketches, ballet in one act after Georgi Aleksidze (1973)
   • Cello Concerto No. 3 (1973)
   • Five Romances after Pjotr Grusinsky for high voice and piano (1974)
   • String Quartet No. 8 (1974) 18'
   • Schweyk against Frans Joseph, operetta (1974)
   • The Milkstreet, cantata after Pjotr Grusinsky for soprano, chorus and orchestra (1975) 20'
   • Suite from the ballet Antique Sketches (1975)
   • Dali and the Hunters, ballet (1975); libretto by Georgi Aleksidze
   • Sonata for cello solo (1975)
   • Concertino for cello and orchestra (1976) 30'
   • Fantasy for string quartet and orchestra (1977)
   • String Quartet No. 9 (1978); dedicated to the memory of Dmitri Shostakovich
     Dmitri Shostakovich
     Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich was a Soviet Russian composer and one of the most celebrated composers of the 20th century....
     
     
   • Twelve Miniatures for string quartet (1978) 30'
   • Twenty-Four Preludes for violin, celesta, piano, bells and chamber orchestra (1978)
   • Twelve Children Songs after Chuta Berulav for voice and piano (1979)
   • Twelve Children's Pieces for piano (1979)
   • Symphony No. 4 (1979)
   • Twenty-Four Preludes for cello and piano (1980)
   • String Quartet No. 10 "Polyphonic" (1984)
   • String Quartet No. 11 (1986)
   • Eight Miniatures on Georgian Folk Tunes for string quartet (1988)
   • Ballad of a Soldier, Requiem (1988)
   • Fantasy after themes from Dolidze's opera "Keto and Kote" for violin and strings (1989)
   • Five Miniatures on Jewish Folk Tunes for string quartet (1990)
   • Fantasy on Themes from Gershwin's "Porgy and Bess" for violin and chamber orchestra (1991)
   • String Quartet No. 12 (1991)

• And furthermore:
  • Pieces for chamber orchestra
  • Choruses
  • Incidental Music
  • Film Music

His major works are:

• 12 string quartets and miniatures for quartet (1947-1991)
• Two operas ("Gandegili" 1972)
• Five ballets ("Demon" 1961, "Rivares" 1982)
• Five symphonies (1952-1985)
• 24 preludes for cello
  Cello
  The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
  
   and orchestra (1980) and violin
  Violin
  The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
  
   and orchestra (1987)
• 2 concertos for piano
  Piano
  The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
  
   and orchestra
• Concertino for cello and chamber orchestra
• 2 concertos for cello and orchestra
• 2 concertos for violin and orchestra
• 3 operetta
  Operetta
  Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
  
  s ("ablabuda" - 1960, "simgera tkeshi" - 1967, "shveiki" - 1976)
• Five Pieces for cello and piano
• A lot of film-music

External links

• Listen Online to Sulkhan Tsintsadze's music