Machavariant, Aleksei Davidovich

Born Sept. 10 (23), 1913, in Gori. Soviet composer. People’s Artist of the USSR (1958).

Machavariani graduated from the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1936, where he studied in S. V. Barkhudarian’s and P. B. Riazanov’s classes in composition. He began composing in 1935. His ballet Othello (1957, Paliashvili Georgian Theater of Opera and Ballet), based on Shakespeare’s play, became famous. In 1961 it was made into a film with the title The Moor of Venice. Machavariani also wrote the opera Mother and Son (1945, Paliashvili Georgian Theater of Opera and Ballet), based on I. G. Chavchavadze’s work; the oratorio Day of My Motherland (1954); two symphonies (1947, 1971); concerti for piano with orchestra (1944) and for violin (1950; State Prize of the USSR, 1951); the vocal-symphonic cycle Five Monologues (1971; Sh. Rustaveli State Prize of the Georgian SSR, 1971); vocal works; music for productions of Georgian drama theaters (for example, Shakespeare’s King Lear, Mrevlishvili’s Baratashvili, and N. Hikmet’s Legend of Love); and music for films. From 1962 to 1968 he was chairman of the administrative body of the Composers’ Union of Georgia. In 1939 he began teaching at the Tbilisi Conservatory, becoming a professor in 1963. He was a deputy to the sixth and seventh convocations of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. Machavariani has been awarded the Order of Lenin, Order of the Badge of Honor, and medals.