Georgia: After a 50-year decision, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia continues to work to solve the shortage of instruments in the Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatory of Tbilisi. The Ministry of Culture began its cooperation with the company “Steinway & Sons” in 2021, and today it has already received the fourth batch of royals.
The State Conservatory named after Vano Sarajishvili has currently been awarded 10, Conservatory Jazz Department 2 and 1 Royal to the Conservatory’s Music Seminar named after Manana Doijashvili. The royals are already in the auditorium, where they have been built, maintained and inspected by the company’s professional engineers.
The tool shortage has been an important issue for the state conservatives for years. Georgian Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Tea Tsulukiani announced the necessity to address her in 2021 and started active negotiations with the company “Steinway” in the same year.
The contribution of Georgian-American pianist and composer famous artist Giorgi Lazo is significant, as he especially contributed to the launch of negotiations between the ministry and “Steinway”.
As a result of fruitful negotiations, supported by the Georgian Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Culture signed a multi-year state procurement agreement with a world-renowned manufacturer.
According to the document, the Conservatory will be handed over to 78 royals step by step until 2025. The instrument transfer schedule is as follows: in 2022, Georgia received 17 royals, and in 2023-25 it will receive 61 royals (according to models and quantity determined by the Conservatory), for which the total was 8,012,636 euros.
On September 14, 2022, the Ministry of Culture of Georgia received nine Steinway royals, and after a 50-year decision, the Conservatory’s royal fund was renewed. Five of these nine royals are working royals, two are semi-concertos, and two are for chamber ensembles.
On December 8, 2022, the Conservatory received the second batch of royals – eight royals, and on June 15, 2023 – seven more royals.
On September 15, this year, at the Vano Sarajishvili State Conservatory of Tbilisi, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia Tea Tsulukiani met with the heads of Steinway and Sans. The discussion at the working meeting covered procedures for importing royals in 2024 and future supply issues. The attention has also been focused on promoting other music and educational institutions.
During the talks with the representatives of Steinway, the minister once again raised the issue of the company training Georgian piano assembly specialists, and in Hamburg, the Steinway factory, funded by the ministry, can carry out training courses in order to properly store this large fund of instruments.
Notably, this European acquisition of the company Steinway, with many years of history, is considered unprecedented.
We remind you that in November last year, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth of Georgia was on a working visit to the company “Steinway and Sons” in Hamburg, Germany. Tea Tsulukiani met company president Guido Zimmerman and regional director Anton Wilhelm.
The minister inspected the “STEINWAY & SONS” royals factory and eight royals for Georgia, which are supposed to be shipped from Hamburg on November 25.
Sadly, the lack of musical instruments is a real issue not only for the Conservatory but other arts schools as well. Instruments are in special need: Tbilisi Central Music School, named after Eugene Mikeladze, where musical instruments were last bought in the 70s; Gori Music College (after 1971, the college has not purchased a new instrument); Rustavi Music School (instruments have not been renewed since 60s) and several other educational institutions hundred.
With the help of the state, in October 2021, for the first time in the last 50 years, the base of instruments was renewed at the Central Music School named after Zakaria Paliashvili – “Decade of Talents”. The Ministry of Culture has purchased brand new, high-quality musical instruments for students: ROYAL STEINWAY & SONS (Essex Piano)”, flute, horn, trombone, classical guitar, percussion instruments, xylophone and valtorna. However, the shortage of instruments in the “decade of talent” remains an actual issue.
