Dimitri Arakishvili, composer from Georgia (Europe)

Dimitri Arakishvili ( ka, დიმიტრი არაყიშვილი) (11 February 1873 – 13 August 1953) was a Soviet and Georgian composer and

ethnomusicologist Ethnomusicology is the study of music from the cultural and social aspects of the people who make it. It encompasses distinct theoretical and methodical approaches that emphasize cultural, social, material, cognitive, biological, and other dim ...

considered one of the founding fathers of modern Georgian music. He was also known by his Russified name Dimitry Ignatyevich Arakchiev (russian: Димитрий Игнатьевич Аракчиев). Born in

Vladikavkaz Vladikavkaz (russian: Владикавка́з, , os, Дзæуджыхъæу, translit=Dzæwdžyqæw, ;), formerly known as Ordzhonikidze () and Dzaudzhikau (), is the capital city of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia. It is located in ...

Terek Oblast The Terek Oblast was a province (''oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, roughly corresponding to the central part of Russia's North Caucasian Federal District. Тhe ''оblast'' was created out of the former territories of t ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

(now

North Ossetia North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography. Etymology The word ''north' ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

), he graduated, in 1901, from the School of Music and Drama operated by

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

Philharmonic Society where he was tutored by Alexander Gretchaninov and Willem Kes. In addition he graduated from the Moscow Archaeological Institute in 1917. He helped found the Moscow People's Conservatory and offered free musical classes in Arbat Square in 1906. From 1908 to 1912, was editor-in-chief of the journal ''Muzika i zhizn''. One of his major interests was Georgian folk music and he traveled throughout Georgia collecting traditional music and over 500 folk songs from 1901 to 1908. When Georgia established an independent republic in 1918, Arakishvili moved to

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million p ...

and founded a conservatory which was merged with the

Tbilisi State Conservatoire Tbilisi State Conservatoire ( ka, თბილისის სახელმწიფო კონსერვატორია, ''Tbilisis Saxelmc̣ipo Ḳonservaṭoria'') is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbili ...

in 1923. He taught and composed, and directed the Conservatory from 1926 to 1929. He was actively involved in collecting and popularizing Georgian folk songs and published books on Georgian folk music. Since 1932, he chaired the Union of Georgian Composers. In 1950, he was awarded the Stalin Prize.Mikaberidze, Alexander (ed., 2007)
Arakishvili, Dimitri
''Dictionary of Georgian National Biography''. Accessed on September 6, 2007.

Selected works

*''

The Legend of Shota Rustaveli ''The Legend of Shota Rustaveli'' ( ka, თქმულება შოთა რუსთაველზე, tr) is a 1904 Georgian-language opera about the 12th-century poet Shota Rustaveli by Dimitri Arakishvili; it premiered at Tbilisi Opera ...

'' 1919

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arakishvili, Dimitri 1873 births 1953 deaths People from Vladikavkaz People from Terek Oblast Academic staff of Tbilisi State Conservatory Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Composers from Georgia (country) Educators from Georgia (country) Ethnomusicologists Burials at Didube Pantheon