Georgian-born conductor Mirian Khukhunaishvili has already made his mark on the international music scene, including Greece! With the applause still fresh from his performance at the Municipal Theatre of Piraeus in a tribute to the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’s birth, the rising conductor spoke to classicalmusic.gr shortly before departing with the Athens State Orchestra and soprano Vasiliki Karagianni to repeat the festive program at the Mikis Theodorakis Theatre in Chania.

Have you visited Greece before, either as a traveler or an artist?

I have visited Greece twice before. The first time as a traveler, exploring Crete, and the second as a conductor, leading the Underground Youth Orchestra. We performed at the Dimitris Mitropoulos Hall of the Athens Concert Hall with two exceptional soloists: harpist Marie-Pierre Langlamet and flutist Stathis Karapanos. Both visits left a strong impression on me, both artistically and personally.

Your concert program is dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Johann Strauss’s birth. It brings to mind the New Year’s Concert in Vienna. Do you watch it?

Like so many music lovers, I also watch the Vienna New Year’s Concert. I’ve been watching it since my teenage years — not necessarily every year, but quite often. I truly enjoy this Viennese repertoire; it has a unique joy, elegance, and lightness that never loses its charm.

What were your first experiences with music, and when did you decide to pursue conducting?

My musical journey began at the age of five when I started singing Georgian traditional music in a children’s choir. A pivotal moment came when I was eleven and traveled to Switzerland for a ten-city tour with the Swiss Army Brass Band and Georgian choirs. It was my first substantial collaboration with an orchestra, and I was completely captivated by the conductor’s role. That’s when I asked my mother to take me to a music school to study conducting. At thirteen, I officially began studying choral conducting.

Since September 2025, you have been the Music Director at the Wrocław Opera – and there are excellent reviews about how well you conducted the Polish national opera. How are you experiencing this new chapter, and what plans excite you the most?

Assuming the music directorship of the Wrocław Opera marks a particularly significant new chapter in my professional life. My debut was indeed with Moniuszko’s The Haunted Manor, a Polish national composer. It is a particularly demanding work for a foreign conductor, but it was met with great success.
In March and April, I will conduct Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and a new production of Martinů’s Julietta. In the upcoming seasons, I am particularly looking forward to a new production of Rigoletto and Robert Wilson’s latest stage production, Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde.

You spent formative years studying in Krakow. How did you choose the city for your studies, and how did its musical environment influence you?

I moved to Krakow after receiving a scholarship in the name of the late First Lady of Poland, Maria Kaczyńska. There, I completed both my master’s and doctoral degrees. Krakow has an exceptionally vibrant classical music scene, which significantly broadened my artistic horizons. One of the greatest experiences was being able to attend Krzysztof Penderecki’s lectures when he taught at the Academy.

You are the first recipient of the Ringmann-Jaross Award, recently established by Christoph Eschenbach, which includes a year-long apprenticeship. Which other conductors have influenced you the most, and how do you view the relationship between apprenticeship, talent, and personal effort?

Maestro Christoph Eschenbach has long been an idol and source of inspiration for me, particularly for his depth of understanding and charisma. Attending his rehearsals and discussing scores offered me invaluable insights. I have also learned a great deal from Paavo Järvi, whether in Zurich, Pärnu, or when he conducted my own orchestra in Tbilisi.

I believe that while talent can accelerate the journey, nothing is achieved without hard and systematic work. A conductor’s knowledge is a combination of what they learn from their teachers and what they acquire through personal study.

You are the founder of the Tbilisi Youth Orchestra. What prompted you to create it?

During my studies in Poland, I saw how much professional orchestras benefited from musicians who had previously played in youth orchestras. Together with my friend and colleague, composer Mika Mdinaradze, we founded the Tbilisi Youth Orchestra to bring this model to Georgia. It’s not a “typical” youth orchestra: we have a regular concert season of 10–16 concerts and have evolved into one of the country’s leading ensembles. We have toured Germany, Switzerland, and San Marino, and this year we will perform at the Beethovenfest in Bonn, with the concert broadcast live via streaming.

Dare I ask: when you, as a young conductor, lead young musicians, do you also learn alongside the orchestra?

Through this journey, I evolved as much as the musicians themselves.

Which concert or opera would you like to conduct in Greece in the future?

I would love to return to Greece to collaborate with the Athens State Orchestra, perhaps presenting works by Shostakovich or Prokofiev, combined with excellent but lesser-known Georgian works. In the realm of opera, it would be a dream of mine to present Martinů’s works in Greece or operas by Shostakovich, Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev.