Nikoloz Rachveli – conductor

Nikoloz Rachveli is the Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra, a laureate of the Rustaveli Prize, and a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Georgia. He combines the roles of composer, conductor, and soloist (piano), bringing a distinctive emotional depth to his performances.

He graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatoire, where he studied composition under Bidzina Kvernadze, and also pursued studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has participated in masterclasses with renowned composers such as Pierre Boulez and Luciano Berio.

Nikoloz Rachveli has collaborated with numerous orchestras, including the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, the Kyiv Philharmonic Orchestra, and Kremerata Baltica. He has also worked with distinguished artists such as Lisa Batiashvili, Sting, Gidon Kremer, Kim Kashkashian, and others. He is the composer of music for theatre productions and films, and a recipient of multiple awards for Best Music, including national prizes in Georgia and Croatia.

He founded the contemporary music festival KONTRAPUNKT, which fosters dialogue between Georgian and international composers. Rachveli actively collaborates with contemporary Georgian composers, and the works of Giya Kancheli hold a special place in his artistic life: in recent years, he has been the first performer of many of Kancheli’s works in Georgia with the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra.

He also initiated an important reform in Georgia that allows musicians of the Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra to elect their artistic leaders, becoming the first elected Music Director and Chief Conductor of the orchestra.

Under his leadership, the orchestra has performed at prestigious venues such as the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Konzerthaus Berlin, UNESCO in Paris, and others. In 2020, Lisa Batiashvili’s album City Lights, featuring Rachveli’s original orchestral arrangements, was released, followed in 2022 by a single featuring the symphonic “Khorumi.”