Vakhtang Kakhidze’s Creative Work in the Context of the Relation Between Jazz and Academic Music

Abstract

Twentieth-century art is characterized by its striving for synthesis, which gave rise to a number of new styles and genres. The creative mutual influence of jazz and academic music is one of the brightest manifestations of this process. Jazz has greatly influenced classical music, and academic music, in turn, has determined important paths for the development of jazz. This issue has not been studied in Georgian musicology to date.

As an example of this process, the article discusses Vakhtang Kakhidze’s creative work, with a focus on his concerto for piano and symphony orchestra, and “Bruderschaft” for viola, piano and string orchestra. Areas of research include: the application of jazz musical-linguistic resources and adaptation of its individual elements as a means for updating traditional musical language; imitation of jazz sounds with traditional classical instruments – “coloration” in jazz style; and the structural integration of jazz expressive techniques and classical music. In Vakhtang Kakhidze’s creative work, jazz is a model for stylization, an artistic face of the epoch, a means of expression, a principle of thought, and a symbol of identity. Ethno jazz is one of the means for the identification and self-expression of his “I” as a composer.

The discussed works reveal the result of Vakhtang Kakhidze's compositional quest, closely related to the idea of the synthesis of jazz and academic art.  Stylistic features of jazz art, improvisation as a principle of thinking, solid compositional genres of academic music, classical forms and peculiarities of Georgian folk music organically coexist in both of these examples of the composer’s academic music.

It is concluded that among Georgian composers of the 1980s, Vakhtang Kakhidze’s works most clearly reflect the synthesis of European compositional technique and jazz traditions.