Hamlet Gonashvili

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hamlet Gonashvili (died 1985) was a Georgian singer (tenor), influential teacher and performer of traditional Georgian music. He is sometimes referred to as "the voice of Georgia".

Gonashvili was born in eastern Georgia, and is considered the best interpreter of songs from the Kartli and Kakheti regions. He was a recipient of many national honors and prizes. The Third Symphony of the Georgian composer Giya Kancheli drew inspiration from Gonashvili's singing and Gonashvili was the soloist in the first recording of the work. (1979, Olympia Records). At the height of his fame, he died in 1985 in a fall from an apple tree. Hamlet (JARO, 1985) is a collection of his most impressive songs.^[1]