Egypt-based Georgian pianist and music professor Elena Dzamashvili has passed away Tuesday in Cairo after almost three decades of inspiring career in Egypt.

Many classical musicians, including Dean of Cairo Conservatory Hanan Aboumagd, have sadly mourned the loss of Dzamashvili, renowned pianist and a skillful tutor.

Born in Georgia to a pianist mother, Elena Dzamashvili was only three years old when she started exploring the instrument before joining the primary music school at the age of four and a half and it didn’t take long for the professors to recognise her extraordinary talent.

She was in the fifth grade when she played Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra, the Georgian state orchestra.

For many years, Dzamashvili taught at the Tbilisi Conservatory, performing regularly with the Tbilisi Symphony Orchestra. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she also started working at the Georgia Radio and Television Company where she made over 600 recordings which continue to be aired regularly today.

In 1990, she was awarded the title of Honored Artists of Georgia. Her resume also includes concerts in the USA and France, among other countries.

The crucial change in Dzamashvili’s life took place in 1991. As part of the active cooperation between the Cairo and Tbilisi conservatories, she was offered to work in Egypt. She brought along her son who, having completed his education at the Tbilisi Conservatory, is now a viola player at the Cairo Symphony Orchestra.

At the Cairo Conservatory, Dzamashvili was teaching piano and chamber music. She was also teaching at the music department of the American University in Cairo and at the Talents Development Centre under the Cairo Opera House’s umbrella.

Leading a dynamic life, she continued to play, presenting solo recitals, accompanying other musicians and with the Cairo Symphony Orchestra.

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