This Friday (February 20, 2026), “Claire Huangci Plays Chopin” with the Athens State Orchestra, conducted by Vakhtang (Vato) Kakhidze. A significant figure in his homeland’s musical life with an international career, the Georgian conductor and composer spoke about the concert’s repertoire, his musical legacy, and his compositional work.

Dear Maestro,

Since 1993, you have continuously conducted the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, which is based in a hall bearing your family name. Tell us about the musical life in your country.

In 1989, my father, the world-renowned Georgian conductor Jansug Kakhidze, founded the Tbilisi Centre for Music and Culture. In 1993, he founded the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, and in the same year, the “Autumn Tbilisi” International Music Festival was also established, hosting prominent musicians from all over the world annually. Since 1993, I have been the principal conductor of the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, and together we have made recordings for Sony Classical.

In 2002, after Jansug Kakhidze’s death, the Music Centre was named after him, and I took over as Artistic Director of the Centre, as well as the Orchestra’s principal conductor. In 2014, the Georgian State Choir also joined the Kakhidze Music Centre, so we now have a choir at our disposal. In 2015, I founded the Djansug Kakhidze International Music Festival, which is based on the collaboration of our orchestra with big names in popular music, such as The Manhattan Transfer, New York Voices, Take 6, Ivan Lins, Patti Austin, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Kurt Elling, and Paquito D’Rivera, as well as many others. In 2023, the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra and I were nominated for Grammy Awards.

There are many conductors who continued a family tradition: Kleiber, Järvi, Sanderling, or Konstantinos Karydis, Miltiades’ nephew. What did you inherit from your father’s practice and teaching?

Many things: understanding the composer, theoretical analysis of the work, conducting technique, and much more… You see, we were very close friends in life and in music — perhaps because I was a composer and he was a conductor, there was a deeper understanding. Throughout my life, I attended his rehearsals and concerts, the way he approached musicians and orchestras in different countries, every work and every composer.

The most important lessons were practical: our rehearsals and discussions about music, the evaluation of works and composers. It wasn’t that we had private technique lessons twice a week. It was a matter of genes and practice — living together through music. These were the most important lessons for me.

Your father had conducted the Athens State Orchestra several times. This is your first time conducting the ensemble.

Yes, this is my first time as a conductor, but I had collaborated with them in May 2000, as a composer and pianist. My father conducted that concert, and it was our last meeting on stage, as he passed away in 2002. When I greeted the musicians today at our first rehearsal, it was moving. At that concert, my father had conducted Mozart’s Haffner Symphony, I performed my Piano Concerto as a soloist, and Alexander Kniazev played my work “Moon Dances” for cello and chamber orchestra. Then my father conducted Maurice Ravel’s “Daphnis and Chloe.” So perhaps it’s no coincidence that I also wanted to present this work.

Ravel’s Suite from “Daphnis et Chloé” is particularly demanding. What are its main difficulties?

It’s fantastic music and perhaps one of the best opportunities for a conductor to showcase themselves. The work includes so many different elements — pantomime, dance, lyrical parts. It’s truly a masterpiece. Also, the musical dramaturgy, the quality of the orchestration, the rhythmic structure — the combination of all these elements makes the work exceptional but also particularly demanding. In this work, a conductor can show what they are capable of.

Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1, on the other hand, is not considered particularly demanding for the conductor.

All concertos are very difficult for the conductor, because there are so many different soloists, but always two strong personalities: the soloist and the conductor. There are two paths: the Leonard Bernstein–Glenn Gould way, which is conflict, or the second path, to facilitate the soloist’s interpretation. I belong to the second category. Success means both the pianist and the orchestra play well. There must be real collaboration for a good result. The conductor and the orchestra must follow the soloist. Chopin’s Concerto, in particular, is extremely demanding due to its many melismatic elements, which might not be in the correct tempo. Sometimes the music seems so sweet, but you must not let yourself relax — it hides many dangers!

You have conducted many famous soloists. Have you already collaborated with Claire Huangci, winner of the 14th Geza Anda Competition (1st Prize 2018)?

It will be the first time, but I am sure this collaboration will be very successful.

The program includes a rare work, Igor Stravinsky’s Symphony No. 1, written at a young age.

Igor Stravinsky wrote Symphony No. 1 between 1905 and 1907, when he was a student of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The work is based on the traditions of the Russian school, but it is clear that this is the beginning of a great composer. Very soon, this charismatic young man would compose masterpieces such as “The Firebird,” “Petrushka,” and “The Rite of Spring.” It is particularly interesting to follow the evolution of a composer.

You are a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory. Do you believe that in today’s globalized music scene, it makes sense to talk about a “Russian school”?

Of course, the Russian school of music exists. There are many composers, conductors, soloists, and orchestras that represent it at a very high level. Every school provides a strong foundation for future development. However, the most important thing was, is, and always will be the personality and individual talent of the artist.

You are also a successful composer. What is your musical orientation?

Composition is my first and foremost profession. I am active in many different genres: classical music, musical and dramatic theater, cinema, jazz–folk, song, and others. In fact, on April 8, 2026, I will conduct my “Requiem” at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (Greek National Opera), together with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian State Choir, and 11 soloists. I hope to see you both now and there.