Vakhtang Kakhidze

Vakhtang (Vato) Kakhidze (Georgian: ვახტანგ (ვატო) კახიძე; Russian: Вахтанг Кахидзе; born 23 March 1959 in Tbilisi) is a Georgian composer and conductor. He is the son of conductor Jansug Kakhidze. He graduated and postgraduated from the Moscow State Conservatory. He studied composition with Nikolai Sidelnikov and orchestration with Edison Denisov. Kakhidze is the conductor of Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra since 1993. Vakhtang Kakhidze was born into a family of Jansug Kakhidze in 1959 in Tbilisi, Georgia.

He began to study music when he was 6 years old, as a pianist. In 1975 he finished choir conducting department of Music High School. In 1981 he graduated from Moscow State Conservatory as a composer, and in 1983 he finished the post graduate courses of the same institute. His teachers were such famous musicians as Nikolai Sidelnikov - composition, Edison Denisov - art of instrumentation and others. In 1988-89 he studied conducting with his father, world-famous Georgian conductor Jansug Kakhidze.

In 1989, Vakhtang Kakhidze began conducting. His debut took place in Georgian National Opera and Ballet Theater of Tbilisi, where he has conducted several performances of his ballet “Amazons”. From 1993 he worked as conductor of Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra. Beside concert performances he recorded 25 CDs for famous international sound-recording companies.

In 2002 Vakhtang Kakhidze was appointed a chief conductor of Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra and Artistic Director of Jansug Kakhidze Tbilisi Centre for Music & Culture. Also, he leads annual International Music Festival “Autumn Tbilisi”, which hosts famous musicians all over the world.