Eteri Andjaparidze

Eteri Andjaparidze is a Georgian/American pianist and pedagogue. Born on September 15, 1956, to the family of musicians in Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, Andjaparidze received her first piano lessons from her pianist mother Yvette Bachtadze. Her father Zurab Andjaparidze (1928–1997) was the leading tenor with the Bolshoi Opera and Tbilisi Paliashvili State Opera and Ballet Theatre. Her stepfather Leonid Oakley (1923–1991) was a Georgian scientist. Aged five Andjaparidze entered Tbilisi Special Music School for Gifted Children (piano studio of Meri Chavchanidze), and by age 9, she debuted in solo recital as well as a soloist with the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra. Andjaparidze earned her Master’s and Doctoral degrees at the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatoire under the guidance of Vera Gornostayeva, a student of Heinrich Neuhaus. Andjaparidze was the first Soviet pianist to win the Grand Prix at the Montreal International Piano Competition in 1976. In 1974 she won Fourth Prize at the Fifth Tchaikovsky International Competition in Moscow. She has appeared around the globe in solo and collaborative recitals and as a guest soloist with the major orchestras and conductors. Her programs encompass all genres and styles of the piano repertoire and discography includes Grammy and Deutsche Schallplatten awards nominated solo albums. Currently a piano faculty at NYU Steinhardt and Mannes School of Music, Andjaparidze has taught at DePaul University, SUNY, Moscow and Tbilisi State Conservatoires and conducted masterclasses worldwide. She is founder and artistic director of advanced piano performance study program AmerKlavier. Andjaparidze is a recipient of the International Friendship Order, the Order of Honor, and the People’s Artist of Georgia title.