Forests, Tales, Cities, Forests by Giorgi Koberidze

One could view a city like Tbilisi, Georgia from an infinite variety of angles, with the city’s many mountains, valleys, passes, ridges, alleys, boulevards, historic neighborhoods, Soviet apartments, western influences, and indigenous traditions giving each glimpse of the city its own unique personality. Tbilisi’s own Giorgi Koberidze engages with this diversity on Forests, Tales, Cities, Forests, a neoclassical work that uses electroacoustic precision to vividly convey each moment and angle of this dynamic region’s existence. Richly recorded indigenous instrumentation mixes with western strings and modern synths to assemble an unlikely symphony, sending us on a leisurely stroll through an aesthetic mosaic with surprises at every turn. Rather than unifying each of Tbilisi’s many vistas into one singular spirit, Koberidze keeps every moment distinctly separate, lending legitimacy to each and every perspective. Through the dark, the light, the tense, the tranquil, the traditional, the cosmopolitan, the embattled, the beloved, Tbilisi remains, all equally true as the city juggles its contradictions with a timeless grace.