Balanchivadze, Andrei (Melitonovich)

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Balanchivadze, Andrei (Melitonovich)

Balanchivadze, Andrei (Melitonovich), Russian composer, son of Meliton (Antonovich) Balanchivadze and brother of George Balanchine; b. St. Petersburg, June 1, 1906. He studied with his father; then entered the Tiflis Cons., where he took courses in piano, and in composition with Ippolitov-Ivanov. In 1935 he joined its staff, and in 1962 became chairman of the composition dept.; numerous Georgian composers studied under him. In his music, he makes use of Georgian folk motifs in a tasteful harmonic framework characteristic of the Russian national school. Among his works is the first Georgian ballet, The Heart of the Mountains (1936). He also composed another ballet, Mtsyri (Tbilisi, 1964), three syms. (1944, 1959, 1984), a symphonic poem, The Ocean (1952), four piano concertos (1944, 1946, 1952, 1968), choruses, and songs.

Bibliography

G. Ordzhonikidze, A. B. (Tbilisi, 1967).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire

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