Georgian pianist Giorgi Gigashvili is one of the most exciting voices of his generation. Equally at home performing the classical canon and embracing contemporary culture, he has built a reputation for fearless interpretations, artistic curiosity and an openness that extends beyond the traditional concert hall. His performances combine technical brilliance with emotional honesty, making him a natural fit for Detect Classic Festival, where boundaries between genres and audiences are continuously reimagined.
Questions and Answers:
3 Facts
1. The opening of Ligeti’s Étude No. 13 (L’escalier du diable) spans the entire keyboard in under 20 seconds.
2. Glenn Gould’s 1981 recording of the Goldberg Variations is almost 13 minutes longer than his legendary 1955 recording.
3. Penguins don’t have knees.
11 Questions
1. What is the biggest inspiration for your music?
People. Everything I experience through people – love, friendship, conflict, disappointment, tenderness and anger. Music is where all of that goes for me. I’m also deeply inspired by the world around me and by what’s happening politically and socially. I don’t think music exists separately from life.
2. How and when did you get into making music?
I started playing the piano as a child, but before I really understood what it meant to be a pianist, I was already singing. I was always making music in one form or another. At some point, the piano became the place where I could say things I couldn’t express in any other way, and since then I’ve never really imagined a life outside music.
3. What are five of your favourite albums of all time?
Frank Ocean – Blonde
Playboi Carti – MUSIC
Beyoncé – RENAISSANCE
Solange – When I Get Home
KayaKata – Sadaa
4. What do you associate with Berlin?
Freedom. Contradictions. Reinvention. Berlin can be ugly and beautiful at exactly the same time, and I love that about it. It gives you space to be whoever you want to be without asking too many questions. I also associate it with very long nights and very grey winters.
5. What’s your favourite place in your town?
Kitten Deli in Berlin. It’s one of those places I always want to come back to.
6. If there were no music in the world, what would you do instead?
Honestly, I have no idea – which is probably a terrible answer! Maybe something connected to theatre or cinema. I’m very interested in performance, storytelling and creating worlds, so I think I would still need to find some way of being on stage or making something. Maybe I would have become a director.
7. What was the last record or piece of music you bought or listened to?
The last record I bought was Rosalía’s LUX on vinyl.
8. Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Rosalía would be the ultimate dream collaboration. And Gala Dragot is my new favourite musician, so definitely her too.
9. What was your best gig, either as a performer or as a spectator?
It’s very difficult to choose just one. Some of the most important concerts for me are not necessarily the biggest ones, but the ones where something unexpected happens and you feel that the audience is completely inside the music with you. Those moments, when the usual distance between performer and audience disappears, are probably my favourites.
10. How important is technology to your creative process?
Very important. I don’t see technology as something opposed to classical music. I’m interested in electronics, sound, microphones, recording, video and all the possibilities for transforming how we experience a performance.
But not AI.
11. This month you are playing at the Detect festival. What can we expect from your concert?
Sense of freedom. I love playing with the orchestra when you can admire their personalities. I love playing outside a classical venue. So a lot of fun and music-making.
