On October 20, 2025, the Great Hall of the Tbilisi State Conservatory hosted a concert that exemplified the intellectual rigor and curatorial clarity of the 13th International Music Festival named after Tengiz Amirejibi. Within the framework of a festival that spans vocal evenings, solo recitals, orchestral performances, and an international piano competition, the collaboration between Austrian pianist Stefan Arnold and the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra “Georgian Sinfonietta,” conducted by Ilia Inaishvili, offered an opportunity to examine interpretive strategies in dialogue with both repertoire and ensemble.
The evening opened with Mendelssohn’s String Symphony No.10 in B minor, a work that, despite its relative brevity, presents significant structural complexity. Mendelssohn’s approach to counterpoint is both transparent and rigorous, and Inaishvili emphasized the architecture of each movement through precise articulation of inner voices. The first movement displayed a careful negotiation between thematic clarity and rhythmic propulsion: the orchestra maintained evenness in articulation while subtly shading phrasing to expose harmonic tension without exaggeration. The interplay of first and second violins, supported by lower strings, revealed Mendelssohn’s contrapuntal layering, and the overall tempo allowed harmonic suspensions to resonate fully, highlighting the composer’s meticulous balance between linear clarity and tonal depth.
Stefan Arnold’s performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.27 in B-flat major, K.595 demonstrated an approach that foregrounded structural awareness over virtuosic display. The Allegro opening maintained a poised tempo that underscored the concerto’s formal symmetry, while dynamic gradations were applied strategically to delineate thematic transitions. In the Andante, Arnold explored the tension inherent in Mozart’s harmonic pauses, using subtle rubato to emphasize internal phrasing rather than surface lyricism. The dialogue between piano and orchestra was consistently calibrated: rather than projecting the piano over the ensemble, Arnold and the Sinfonietta achieved a chamber-like interdependence, allowing motivic development within the orchestra to remain perceptible.
The concluding Rondo movement provided insight into Arnold’s approach to classical phrasing and rhythmic shaping. The articulation of repeated motifs was clean yet flexible, with subtle emphasis on counter-motifs in the orchestral lines, creating a sense of internal momentum. Inaishvili’s conducting responded to these nuances, adjusting ensemble dynamics to support the piano’s expressive contours without disrupting overall structural balance. The performance maintained forward momentum while preserving harmonic detail, a result of both conductor and soloist prioritizing formal coherence over surface spectacle.
Within the context of the Tengiz Amirejibi Festival, this concert illustrates the interplay between interpretive strategy and curatorial intent. The festival, active since 2013, consistently foregrounds a dialogue between Georgian musical sensibility and international repertoire. Its programming—ranging from the opening vocal recital with Lado Athaneli and Tamar Lichel, through piano evenings such as Giorgi Vachnadze’s solo concert, to orchestral evenings like Arnold’s—demonstrates an attention to formal continuity, structural clarity, and interpretive depth. Upcoming events in Borjomi, including Georgian classical evenings and the XI International Competition of Pianists, continue this trajectory, situating emerging performers within a tradition of rigorous musical scrutiny.
In this performance, the emphasis on structural clarity, motivic dialogue, and calibrated interaction between soloist and orchestra reflects the festival’s broader philosophy: music as a system of formal and expressive relations rather than an occasion for spectacle. The concert confirms the capacity of both performers and organizers to engage with the repertoire critically, producing a presentation that is as instructive analytically as it is perceptually compelling.
Review by Ivan Nechaev
