Liana Isakadze
Born in Tbilisi, Liana Isakadze started studying the violin when she was seven years old. At nine years old, thanks to her teacher professor Shiukashvili, she played with the State Symphonic Orchestra.
In 1956 Liana Isakadze held her first solo concert. Since 1964 she played a Stradivari violin she received as a gift from the Moscow State Violin Collection. Since 1965 she has performed as a solo violin in orchestras directed by conductors such as Jiri Kout, Paavo Berglund, Vladimir Verbitsky, Jiří Bělohlávek, Valery Gergiev, Yehudi Menuhin, Eri Klas, Aleksandr Dmitriyev, Kurt Masur, Thomas Sanderling, Michail Jurowski, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, Hiroyuki Iwaki, Rudolf Kempe, Václav Neumann, Mariss Jansons, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Herbert Blomstedt, Gintaras Rinkevičius, Neeme Järvi, Dmitry Liss, Charles Dutoit. In 1965 she was awarded the Grand Prix at the Marguerite Long and Jacques Thibaud International Contest in Paris. In 1970 she reached the third position at the Tchaikovsky Contest in Moscow. In the same year, she won the Jean Sibelius International Violin Contest in Helsinki. In 1989-1991 Isakadze has been a People’s Deputy in the USSR. In 1983 she directed several international music festivals such as Eichstädt (Germany), Nocturnal Serenades in Pitsunda (Abkhazia / Georgia), Open Air Festival in Batumi (Georgia) and Festival of Arts in Borjomi (Georgia ). In 2011 Isakadze founded the ensemble orchestra Virtuouses from Facebook, which saw the participation of famous international musicians. The ensemble held its first concerts in August 2011 with the festivals Friends of Facebook and Night Serenades in Batumi (Georgia).
Liana Isakadze has received the titles of People’s Artist of the USSR (1988), Meritorious Artist of the Georgian SSR (1970). She has also been decorated with the Georgian State Prize (1975, 1983, 2002) and with the Georgian Order of Honour (1998, 2002).