Andria Balanachivadze (May 19, 1906 – April 28, 1992) was a Georgian

Georgia (country)

Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...

 composer. He was the son of Meliton Balanchivadze

Meliton Balanchivadze

Meliton Balanchivadze was a Georgian composer and one of the founders of Georgian classical music. His two sons, George Balanchine and Andria Balanchivadze, had illustrious careers, the former as a leading choreographer in the United States, and the latter as Soviet Georgia’s foremost classical...

, the composer, and brother of George Balanchine

George Balanchine

George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...

, the famous Georgian-American choreographer.

Born in St. Petersburg, Russia

Russian Empire

The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...

, he graduated from Tbilisi State Conservatory

Tbilisi State Conservatory

Tbilisi State Conservatoire is the State Conservatoire of Georgia, located in the capital Tbilisi.-History:The Tbilisi Conservatoire was founded on 1 May 1917. It was formally recognised by the Russian Musical Society as a conservatoire later that year. A rival conservatoire was also founded in...

 in 1927 and Leningrad Conservatory in 1931, where he studied with Pyotr Ryazanov. Upon his return to Georgia, he became the musical director of several theatres from 1931 to 1934. Having barely survived Stalin's purges

Great Purge

The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1936 to 1938...

, he became a professor at the Tbilisi Conservatory in 1942 and served as an artistic director

Artistic director (music)

An artistic director may refer to someone who directs a musical ensemble, and in this medium, is often abbreviated as simply Director. The typical jobs of a musical artistic director are to choose repertoire for the ensemble, come up with an artistic vision for the group and also a long-term...

 of the Georgian State Symphony from 1941 to 1948. He became a major influence in musical politics as chair (1953), and first secretary (1955-61, 1968-72) of the Union of Georgian Composers. Balanchivadze’s numerous symphonies, pianoforte concerts, and compositions for the stage heavily contributed to modern Georgian classical music. He also authored the first Georgian ballet

Ballet

Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...

 The Heart of the Mountains (1936).

He was granted the titles of the People's Artist

People's Artist

People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....

 of Georgia (1957) and of the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 (1968) and awarded with several prizes, including the USSR State Prize

USSR State Prize

The USSR State Prize was the Soviet Union's state honour. It was established on September 9, 1966. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, the prize was followed up by the State Prize of the Russian Federation....

 in 1944 and the Shota Rustaveli State Prize

Shota Rustaveli State Prize

The Shota Rustaveli State Prize is the highest prize awarded by Georgia in the fields of art and literature. The first prize-winners of this prize were Konstantine Gamsakhurdia , Irakli Abashidze and Lado Gudiashvili in 1965...

in 1969.