Dimitriadis Odysseas

Odysseas Dimitriadis, (24 June / 7 July 1908, Batumi – 27 April 2005, Tbilisi; buried in the Tbilisi Opera Garden), was a conductor, teacher, People’s Artist of Georgia (1950) and the USSR (1958), Shota Rustaveli State Prize winner (1989), and an Honorary Citizen of Tbilisi (1980).

In 1930, he graduated from the Tbilisi State Conservatory, where he studied composition under M. Bagrinovsky and S. Barkhudarian. After graduation, he worked in Sokhumi, composing music for the Greek Drama Theater and orchestral pieces. From 1933 to 1936, he studied conducting at the Leningrad Conservatory under A. Gauk and I. Musin.

From 1937 to 1947, Dimitriadis was a conductor at the Tbilisi Z. Paliashvili Opera and Ballet Theater (invited by E. Mikeladze), and later served as chief conductor in 1952–1965 and 1973–1975. Between 1965 and 1973, he was also a conductor at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow. In parallel, he taught at the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1937–1941 and 1957–1995, becoming a professor in 1937 and leading the conducting class. His students included J. Kakhidze, T. Japaridze, R. Takidze, G. Munjishvili, T. Dugladze, I. Dadiani, N. Davitashvili, V. Gurevich, and others.

He served as chief conductor of the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra from 1947 to 1952, and from 1968 taught at the Moscow Conservatory. From 1987, he worked as conductor-consultant at the Kutaisi Opera Theater. Dimitriadis was known for his great artistic range and expressive temperament. His opera and symphonic repertoire included classical Russian and Western European works as well as contemporary Russian and international compositions.

He played a major role in promoting works by Georgian composers. Under his baton, the following operas and ballets were performed for the first time: “Kako Kachagi” (Kako the Outlaw) by A. Andriashvili (1940), “Chrdiloetis Patardzali” (The Bride of the North) by D. Toradze (1957), “Didostatis Marjvena”The Right Hand of the Grand Master by Sh. Mshvelidze (1961), Mindia by O. Taktakishvili (1961), and Othello, a ballet by A. Machavariani (1958).

He also premiered numerous symphonic works, including Symphonies I (1944), II (1959), III (1980), and IV (1984) by A. Balanchivadze; Symphony I (1947) and the Violin Concerto (1950) by A. Machavariani; Symphonies I (1949) and II (1954), and Piano Concerto I (1951) by O. Taktakishvili; Symphony III “Samgori” (1952) by Sh. Mshvelidze; and the Oratorio Caucasus (1949). Some of these works were also performed abroad, including in various cities across the USSR.

Many opera productions were staged under Dimitriadis’s direction at the Tbilisi Opera, including: Abesalom and Eteri by Z. Paliashvili (1953), Bashi Achuki by A. Kereselidze (1956), The Tsar’s Bride by N. Rimsky-Korsakov (1939), Eugene Onegin (1953) and The Maid of Orleans (1957) by P. Tchaikovsky, La Bohème (1945) and Madama Butterfly (1956) by G. Puccini, Cavalleria Rusticana by P. Mascagni (1959), Lucia di Lammermoor by G. Donizetti (1963), Semyon Kotko by S. Prokofiev (1964), among others.

Dimitriadis toured extensively across the USSR and abroad. From 1960 onward, he was repeatedly invited as a conductor and musical director for operas in Mexico, Argentina, Greece, Czechoslovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

He received numerous state honors, including the Order of Honor in 1996.

A. Tsulukidze