Gilmer County will soon play host to a classical pianist who’s gone from her birthplace, the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, to performing at Carnegie Hall and other prestigious venues around the world.
Dudana Mazmanishvili will perform at the Ellijay Elementary School Auditorium Thursday, Oct. 5. The concert, presented by Gilmer Arts, will begin at 7 p.m.
Mazmanishvili, 43, was a child prodigy who first began studying classical piano under her mother, Tamar Apakidze, at age 3. As the young girl’s skills progressed, she came to the U.S. as a teen to attend school.
“She is one of the best pianists in the world. When she plays, it’s just unbelievable,” said John Berkstresser, a classical pianist and retired airline pilot who now lives in Ellijay with his wife, Lynne.
The Berkstressers were Mazmanishvili’s host family for six years when they lived in Pennsylvania and later New York. They moved to Gilmer County in 2015 after John retired from flying.
John was performing at a theater in Pennsylvania several years ago, when he first met Mazmanishvili.
“Dudana happened to be in this town because she was a number one student and had been awarded a gift from (former Georgia president) Eduard Shevardnadze. They gave her six months of tuition at a prestigious girl’s school in Pennsylvania,” he remembered. “Her guardian at that time was also a pilot. I was flying for Continental Airlines at the time. He knew that, and they came to (the performance).”
The Berkstressers later agreed to sponsor Mazmanishvili so she could continue her education in the U.S.
“I had no idea what I was getting myself into,” John said. “By the time she was 5, she was already an advanced pianist. It’s like an athletic event. It’s just ridiculous what she can do.”
The couple moved to New York, where Mazmanishvili studied piano at the Mannes School of Music and, at a young age, made a big impact on the classical music world.
“It didn’t take long. She just took New York by storm,” John said. “She got a Lincoln Center debut and a Carnegie Hall debut. She got signed by the Colbert agency on 57th Street and started giving concerts.”
John said Mazmanishvili’s mother, who’s since passed away, had studied classical piano at the Moscow Conservatory in her youth. She graduated from the conservatory, but it was still the Cold War era. Coming to the U.S. to showcase her talent wasn’t possible then.
“When her mother was a child, Khrushchev was (still in power). This was back in the days when they pointed at you and said ‘You’re going to be plumber, you’re going to be a pilot,’ and so on. (Dudana’s mother) actually studied with (Heinrich) Neuhaus, who was one of the greatest piano teachers in the world,” said John.
Today, Mazmanishvili lives in Berlin, Germany, and performs only select dates.
“For a long time, she was at the Georgian Embassy in Berlin as their cultural attaché for Georgia,” said Lynne. “Two or three years ago, she quit that to (concentrate on performing).”
Mazmanishvili’s solo piano performances typically include complex pieces of music written by some of history’s greatest composers. Here, she will perform, among other selections, Bach’s “Goldberg Variations.”
The almost 50-minute piece, which includes an aria and 30 different variations (a piece in which music is repeated with changes in such elements as melody and rhythm) is normally only attempted by virtuosos, John noted.
“It’s a particularly difficult piece. Most people would not play this,” he added.
John and Lynne have remained in contact with Mazmanishvili, visiting her yearly in Berlin before the pandemic started. It’s been three years since they were able to do that, so her appearance here will also provide a chance for them to reconnect.
“She’s been like a daughter to us. She’s extremely gifted and speaks seven languages fluently,” John said. “What I like about her is she’s very humble and not at all conceited.”
John said he and Mazmanishvili are fortunate to have shared a bond with their love of learning about and playing classical music.
“I understand a lot about what she does. When she was younger, I tried to influence her a lot. She would ask me things, and I would tell her what I thought. I gave her lessons, and of course she’s given me lessons, because she (is such a great pianist),” he said. “I was privileged to once play at Carnegie Hall for a concert celebrating the 200th anniversary of Chopin’s birth. (To my surprise), all the Juilliard class and all these famous pianists showed up. The only reason all those people were there was because of her. That was really sweet that she did that for me.”
The Berkstressers have helped make the upcoming concert possible, noted Pam Burns, of Gilmer Arts. The organization has brought an array of internationally respected musicians to perform in Ellijay over the years, and this will be another opportunity for local residents to see a top-level musician perform here, she noted.
Tickets for the concert are available at GilmerArts.com.