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Josef Bardanashvili was born in 1948 in Batumi, Georgia. He studied at the Music Academy in Tbilisi under Aleksandr Shaverzashvili, where he graduated with a doctorate in composition in 1976.

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Bardanashvili was Director of the Music College in Batumi (1986-1991), and Culture Vice-Minister in Adjaria (1993-1994), and in this capacity organized numerous international music festivals. 

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 He settled in Israel in 1995.

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Bardanashvili served as composer-in-residence of the Raanana Symphonette Orchestra in Israel from 1996-99 and Musical  Director of  the  International  Biennial  for  Contemporary  Music "Tempus  Fugit" in Tel-Aviv (2002, 2004,2006), and  is currently composer-in-residence of the Israel Camerata Jerusalem. 

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He taught at Camera Obscura College, at  Bar Ilan University and at the Sapir  Academic College. Currently he is a faculty member of the  Academy of Music at the Tel-Aviv University and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance.

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 Bardanshvili from 1999 to 2010 was  a member of the  public council of the  Ministry of  the Culture and Art of Israel.

He is permanently invited as a member of the jury of different musical competitions, to musical academies and schools for performing different master classes  and lectures and meetings.

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Josef Bardanashvili has composed more than 100 works. The list of main compositions:

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 - the first Georgian rock-opera ''Alternative'' (1976), and rock-ballet "Tutor"(1982);

 - 5 operas: rock-opera ''Alternative'' (1976), "Moving Stars" (2 act opera, libretto by the composer & Dgemal Adgiashvili -1982); Eva (mono-opera, libretto by Aleksandr Parin-1998) commissioned and performed by the Sacro-Art Festival (Hanover- Germany) ''A Journey to the End of the Millennium,'' libretto A.B.Yehoshua (2005), commissioned and performed by The Israeli Opera( in commemoration of its 20th anniversary) and  ''The Dybbuk'' libretto  Ido Ricklin, commissioned by The Israeli Opera( in commemoration of its 35th anniversary)

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 - 4 ballets:"A Woman's Ballad"(1972), "Tutor'' (1982, choreography by Boris Eifman , "Moving Soul"(1991)libretto by Georgi Aleksidze and Josef Bardanashvili ; "Acharpani" and "Gurdji khantun" (2012-2014) choreography by Mariam Aleksidze;a ballet commissioned and performed by the Tbilisi Contemporary Ballet

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 - 4 symphonies(1980, 2001,2006, 2016), Symphony No 3 ''Bameh Madlikin''(''With what do we light'') commissioned by the Israel Philharmonic 

Orchestra in commemoration of its 70-th anniversary.  

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- concertos for guitar, flute, piano, mandolin, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, a double concerto for cello, piano & brass orchestra;

Triptych for voices & orchestra ("Children of God" - texts from the Talmud, Quran, New Testament, Book of Psalms, for countertenor & orchestra, (1997); "Yearning" - texts from the Pure Prayer, Blessings, Ecclesiastes for voice & orchestra, (1999);" Time to Love" - texts from the Song of Solomon, Evangelists, Shmuel Hanagid, Nahapet Kuchak for male chorus & string orchestra, (1999); Elegia for string orchestra (1997), Steps and Metamorphoses for small orchestra, Symphonic Poem for clarinet & orchestra (1998), string quartets, quintets, piano trios, piano sonatas, choral music, and songs. 

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He has written music for 50 films and 55 theater productions.

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His numerous compositions have been performed successfully all over the world - in Israel, Georgia, USA, Germany, Russia, France, Spain, Italy, Finland, Hungary, Canada, Japan, the UK.

by such soloists as Giora Feidman, Tabea Zimmerman, Natalia Gutman, Gay Burstein, Yossi Arnheim, Liana Isacadze, Avi Avital, Nana Jashvili, Oleg Malov, Alexander Korsantia, Tzvi Plesser, Uri Gandelsman,Viktor Derevianko, Tea Demuri, Etti Ankri, David D'aor, Etti Ben zaken

and by conductors : Zubin Mehta, Valery Gergiev, Andreas Mustonen, Lior Shambadal, Shlomo Mintz, George  Manahan, Djansug Kachidze, Vaktang Kakhidze,Gisele Ben-Dor, Uri Segal, Gabor  Hollerung, Yerucham Sharovsky , Zsolt Nagy, Steven Sloan, Joel Sachs, Avner Biron, Nizan Leibovich,Nikoloz  Rachveli

and by orchestras such as  the Israel Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg Opera Orchestra, the Berliner  Symphoniker, the Georgian State Symphony Orchestra  the Dochnany Orchestra (Hungary), the Jerusalem  Symphony Orchestra - IBA, the Rishon le-Zion Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, the Raanana Symphonette, the Beer-Sheva Sinphonietta, the Musica Nova Ensemble, the Israel Contemporary Players, Ensemble Contempo (USA), the New Juilliard Ensemble (USA), Continuum (USA), Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (Canada) and in music festivals in Israel and  abroad.

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Among his honors are the title of Honored Artist of Georgia (1988), the Paliashvili Award (1987),

the ACUM ''Composer of the Year'' Prize (1998),

the Margalit Prize (1999)  for  the  incidental music for "The Dybbuk"),

the Prime Minister's  Award for Composition (2000 and again 2011),

the ACUM Prize for "Life Achievement" (2002),

the ACUM prize '' Composer of the Year''(2004),

the Rozenblum (2005) and Engel (2013) Prizes for Performing Arts-Tel-Aviv, 

the Landau prize (received the National Lottery Prize for Composition 2006).

Prize by I.Shtern from the Ministry of Absorption (2009)  Engel  Prize for Performing Arts-Tel-Aviv (2013).

-The Prize for the best music (international festival of Cinema Montpellier) 2014

the Zionism (2015) and Arik Einstein Prizes (2017) from the Ministry of  Culture.

The ACUM's Menachem Avidom Achievement Award for Concert Music Piece (2018)''

BIAFF 2018 Life time Achievement awards for music

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and the Israel Theater Oscar for Music (1999,2003, 2010, 2011,2012).

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