National Symphony Orchestra Asks for Return in Tbilisi Philharmonic Hall

Yevgeny Mikeladze National Symphony Orchestra of Georgia addressed Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, Minister of Culture Mikheil Batiashvili and Economy Minister Giorgi Kobulia to let them occupy Tbilisi Concert Hall.

Head of Orchestra Nikoloz Rachveli says that the Orchestra deserves a permanent place where they can rehearse properly and give interesting and diverse concerts.

"This orchestra, which has a tradition of 100 years and has been the most important of our culture in all time, deserves to have its own hall. Why Philharmonic hall? Because it is of state importance and our orchestra deserves to be there,” he said.

Rachveli explains that they decided to apply to the government after the company -"International Events", which has the right to manage the Philharmonic, has accumulated a large amount of debt before the state, which led to the abolition of the contract.

“We have fairly addressed the government and the society for their support in order to bring us back to the Philharmonic Hall, which was built for our orchestra, "said Nikoloz Rachveli.

Deputy Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Monument Protection Mikheil Giorgadze criticized Rachveli, saying the Ministry has allocated an additional 150,000 GEL for renting various spaces so that the orchestra is homeless is “the only speculation and is not true.”

“For the first time in the management of the Orchestra, over GEL 250,000 was allocated for projects to create a new building but the management failed to create a new project. GEL 15 million was meant for construction works for 2019-2021 but there is no project so this money cannot be used by them,” Deputy Minister said.

Giorgadze added that those GEL 15 million is not enough for Rachveli and “he requested 40-45 million for constructing a new building.”

The Head of Orchestra responded to Giorgadze, saying his comments are “outrageous.”

“He [Giorgadze] is obliged to stand next to the National Symphony Orchestra, our State Music Center and the ideas that we serve,” he said.

Tbilisi Concert Hall was handed to LLC "International Events" in 2007 with the right of management for 49 years. According to the official information, at this time the company’s debt to the state is GEL 3,115,146 and $ 177,102. On January 18, 2019, the Managing Company addressed the Minister of Economy Giorgi Kobulia, asking for distribution of the debt to 9 years.