Russudan Meipariani -- Expanding the Tradition of Georgian Music

You should know Meipariani, if you like Georgia -- or just good music

Few of my friends have heard about her, nor had I — Russudan Meipariani, a Georgian musician based in Germany. I stumbled across her when, on a visit to family, I discovered this Georgian name in the evening program of a cosy music event of Junge Oper im Norden (JOiN), a branch of the Stuttgart Opera, a few days ago, where Meipariani was on stage with Hajnalka Peter, to play some music, choose some other music, and talk about music.

Curious about Meipariani before attending, I found her on Spotify, and immediately got stuck with the hypnotic Silences from her 2024 Voices & Mountains album. I liked it enough to put it on repeat, which is a terrible habit but if a piece is magnetic I sometimes want it on loop, over and over.

“Voices & Mountains” was recorded with the Ensemble Anchiskhati — which you have almost certainly seen or come across, if you are interested in Georgia. (Yes, at least one of its prominent members is a regular presence at the Rustaveli protests also.)

Here is one piece with them.

At that event at JOiN a few days ago, Meipariani had selected one piece of Laurie Anderson, and so it was not a surprise to read that reference in one of the texts about the 2024 album. Here is the description of the album:

“The Georgian composer, pianist and singer Russudan Meipariani travels musical interspaces connecting archaic tradition of Georgian polyphony with post-minimalistic structures and elements of experimental pop. Born in Tbilisi, she grew up in an oscillating urban cosmos between Christian-infuenced Georgian traditions and Western-oriented culture.

Discovering the music of Björk, Tori Amos, Cocteau Twins, Kate Bush and Laurie Anderson during her piano studies had great impact on Russudan Meipariani's artistic development. Later she studied composition with Wolfgang Rihm in Karlsruhe and with Lasse Thoresen in Oslo, acting in diferent worlds: as classical pianist and as composer/performer, experimenting with voice and pushing the boundaries of genres.”

At a subsequent event in the Galerie Schacher (dedicated to the finissage of showing the remarkable paintings of Shalva Gelitashvili, but that is another topic) on June 29, where some of her newest works were played (curated by Manfred Hainfeldner), Meipariani talked about her background — yes, it is a name from Svaneti, but her ancestors relocated to Kharagauli in the Imereti region, according to family lore to avoid a blood feud. She also described making do, in the early 1990s by playing in the Sheraton Metechi Hotel for two hour shifts, and her sister bringing the scores of the Mendelssohn violin concerto, or her playing Schubert, so that they could use the time in the hotel lobby to play what they anyway wanted to practice. (The sister Natalie, a violinist, is a collaborator for playing baroque music, showing the wide range that Meipariani covers.)

Some of the newest work, played at the Galerie Schacher event, which she recorded with the electronic musician “Putte” (Thorsten Puttenat) does not seem to be on Spotify, but is on Amazon Music. Here, some of the inspirations cited are Nordic Music, Ambient und minimal music. Below is a live recording of “Russo & Putte” — if you have time to immerse yourself as it gathers speed and intensifies.

I am still busy finding my way through the albums she published over the years. Below is an overview on her works, from her great website. And yes, if you know Sololaki you will recognize the staircase bottom left.

As Meipariani highlighted at the event, for her collaborations are key, also to develop and discover. That gives what she does significant versatility. The great website announces and showcases her events, here.

Why do I post all this? When I say my friends did not know about Meipariani, that is not entirely correct. As it turned out, we have several good friends in common. But — these friends had never told me, hey, you have to check out this music. That omission was an error, hence my nudge in Meipariani’s direction.

I love her combination of Georgian music with electronic elements, as a way to refresh access to that music, and perhaps add the vibrant immanence that traditional Georgian music has when sung live, but that — like fresh wine — it does not always carry when bottled.

With Meipariani we have an artist who builds on this rich Georgian tradition but also expands and reinvents it, in what now is an impressive range of work. You may really want to add Meipariani to your playlists. And since artists don’t earn much (or really any) money from streaming, tell other friends; or buy the CD; go to a concert, or even consider inviting Meipariani to a function you host. Check out her website, and try to get on her mailing list, too.

Her music is simply too good not to pay attention to.