Elisso Bolkvadze


Elisso Bolkvadze or Eliso Bolkvadze is a Georgian classical pianist born in Tbilisi, Georgia.

Early life

Elisso Bolkvadze comes from a literary family. She gave her first concert at the age of seven. She studied in a special music school for gifted children in Tbilisi, and continued her study in the conservatory of Tbilisi with professor Tengiz Amirejibi, and at the same time she followed a master class with Professor Tatiana Nikolayeva in Moscow. Later she moved in Paris and continued her musical and intellectual education with the composer and philosopher Michel Sogny in France and Austria.

Career

Awards and recognitions

Elisso Bolkvadze has won numerous famous international piano competitions, such as International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig, Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in United States, Vianna da Motta International Music Competition in Lisbon, Long-Thibaud-Crespin Competition in Paris, Axa International Piano Competition in Dublin, etc.
On October 7, 2015, she was awarded the Order of Arts and Literature, by France's Culture Minister Fleur Pellerin.
January 22, 2015, she became UNESCO Artist for Peace. This prestigious title was designated to her by UNESCO General Director, Irina Bokova.
In 2018, she was also awarded the most prestigious national honor - “The medal of honor of Georgian government” by the Georgian government.
Elisso Bolkvadze was interviewed by the Piano Performer Magazine and was featured on the cover of the fall issue.

Concerts

Elisso has played sold out recitals and concerts throughout Europe, United States, Japan and China in prestigious Concert Halls: such as John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Pasadena Auditorium, Orange County Convention Center, Salle Pleyel, Salle Gaveau, Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Gewandhaus Orchestra, Herkulessaal Alte Oper, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, Wiener Konzerthaus, Victoria Hall, Cadogan Hall in London, Konzerthaus Berlin, Teatro Manzoni, Orchestra Hall, Chicago, Knight Concert Hall, etc.
In addition, Elisso Bolkvadze has performed with number of orchestras, including Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, National Philharmonic of Ukraine, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck, Orchestre National de France, Dallas Symphony Orchestra and so on.
In June, 2018 Elisso performed at UNESCO Headquarters on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Proclamation of Independence of the Democratic Republic of Georgia.
Elisso Bolkvadze is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Batumi - Black Sea Music and Art Festival in Georgia.

Labels

Elisso Bolkvadze has recorded a broad program for piano and orchestra by Ludwig van Beethoven, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Camille Saint-Saëns and Franz Liszt for the label Sony Classical Records under the direction of Jansug Kakhidze.
She also recorded a live recital at the Festival Michel Sogny in August 2007 for the Cascavelle label.
In 2015 she recorded a new CD, with Audite label with the piece of Shubert and Prokofiev.

Charity

Elisso Bolkvadze is actively engaged in charitable concerts and activities. In 2013, Elisso founded her own charitable music foundation, Lyra, with the mission of inspiring and promoting the young generation of Georgian classical pianists.
In 2013, Elisso Bolkvadze performed a recital concert “Piano for Peace” at World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
She gave the series of charity concerts for supporting Georgian children who have suffered from war as well to help individual patients and children affected by cancer.
In March 2017 she participated in a conference organized by United Nations General Assembly in Geneva with Angelina Jolie to honor the memory of Sérgio Vieira de Mello.