Giya Kancheli - Abii ne viderem (1994)

Giya Kancheli born 1935, in Tbilisi, is a Georgian composer resident in Belgium. His music is often spiritual, leading some to compare him (not always helpfully) to composers such as Arvo Pärt and John Tavener. There are several instances of folk and religious inspiration in his music, notably in the opening of the Third Symphony and his more recent work Magnum Ignotum, but the effect of Georgian folk elements on his style should not be overemphasized.

Since 1991, Kancheli has lived in Western Europe: first in Berlin, and since 1995 in Antwerp, where he is composer-in-residence for the Royal Flemish Philharmonic.