Liana Isakadze

Liana Alexandres asuli Isakadze (Georgian: ლიანა ისაკაძე, Russian: Лиана Александровна Исакадзе, German: Liana Isakadse; 2 August 1946 – 5 July 2024) was a prominent Georgian violinist and conductor. Following a career as a violin soloist with leading orchestras throughout Europe, she served as conductor of the Georgian State Chamber Orchestra and in 1988 was recognized as the People's Artist of the USSR – she was the youngest musician in the history of the Soviet Union to obtain that title.

Life

Born in Tbilisi, the capital of then-Soviet Georgia, Isakadze entered music school at the age of seven. Under her teacher, Professor Shiukashvili, she excelled and at the age of nine played with the State Symphonic Orchestra. In 1956 she played her first solo violin concert. In 1956 she took part in the Moscow International Festival Competition. While younger than the other participants, she performed the adult program. The chairman of the festival was the famous violinist, David Oistrakh.

D. Oistrakh played a big role in her life. It was he who insisted that she graduate from the Central Musical School a year early because she had been accepted in his class at the Moscow State Conservatory without having to take the entrance exam.

After the conservancy, Isakadze worked as Oistrakh's assistant for two years. She played in his orchestra when he conducted Beethoven and Tchaikovsky concertos.

In 1965 she was awarded the "Grand Prix" at the Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud International Competition (Paris). In 1970 she participated at the Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow) and received third place. In 1970 she took part in the Second Jean Sibelius International Violin Competition (Helsinki) where she shared the first prize with Pavel Kogan. Isakadze greeted with flowers in Amsterdam, 1967. Pictured alongside are Maxim Shostakovich and Yevgeny Svetlanov. 

From 1964 to 1981 Liana played a Stradivarius violin which was a gift from the State Violin Collection in Moscow. Beginning in 1965 she played as a violin soloist with the orchestras of such outstanding conductors as Jiri Kout, Paavo Berglund, Vladimir Verbitsky, Jiří Bělohlávek, Valery Gergiev, Yehudi Menuhin, Eri Klas, Aleksandr Dmitriyev, Kurt Masur, Thomas Sanderling, Michail Jurowski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Rudolf Kempe, Václav Neumann, Mariss Jansons, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Herbert Blomstedt, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Neeme Järvi, Dmitry Liss, Charles Dutoit.

Liana had an idea to create Festivals "Musicians are Joking". From 1982 to 1989 she held these festivals which became popular.

She played chamber music with notables such as Gustav Rivinius, Alexander Slobodyanik, Maxim Vengerov, Barbara Hendricks, Gidon Kremer, Franz Hummel, Natalia Gutman, Grigori Zhislin, Alexander Rudin, David Geringas, Frida Bauer, Maria Yudina, Igor Oistrakh, Dimitri Alexeev, Ivan Monighetti, Eduard Brunner, Yuri Bashmet, Alexander Kniazev, Alexei Lubimov, Justus Frantz, Arto Noras, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Viktor Tretiakov and many others.

In 2009 she formed a Chamber Orchestra of Young Musicians of Southern and Eastern Europe. The German Foreign Ministry provided the support for this undertaking.

In 1983 Isakadze was artistic director of various international festivals, such as Eichstädt (Germany), "Night Serenades" in Pitsunda (Abkhazia/Georgia), Open Air Festival in Batumi (Georgia) and "Festival of Arts" in Borjomi (Georgia).

After 2011, Liana formed an ensemble – orchestra "Virtuosi from Facebook". The musicians who took part in this venture were famous musicians from various countries and they are Friends of Facebook. Its first performances took place at the Liana Isakadze Festivals of "Friends of Facebook" and "Night Serenades" in August 2011 in Batumi (Georgia).

After Soviet Union Isakadze lived in France: in Paris and Grasse.

From 26 March 1989 to 26 December 1991, Isakadze was also a People's Deputy of the Soviet Union Liana Isakadze was awarded, among other things, the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1988), Meritorious Artist of the Georgian SSR (1970), the State Prize of Georgia (1975, 1983, 2002), and the Order of Honour of Georgia (1998, 2002).[5][6]

Her death was announced on 5 July 2024, but no actual date was included.