Armonia ludus

The original chamber orchestra Armonia Ludus was founded in 2015 in Kyiv at the initiative of conductor Mikheil Menabde, with the aim of interpreting contemporary European music at the highest level. The ensemble quickly gained great recognition – both from audiences and from leading Ukrainian composers such as Valentyn Silvestrov, Victoria Vita Poleva, Alla Zagaykevych, Svyatoslav Lunyov, and Maxim Shalygin, with whom Menabde shares a close artistic and personal friendship.

Today, Armonia Ludus unites outstanding musicians from the Viennese music scene – members of renowned ensembles such as the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Tonkünstler Orchestra of Lower Austria – with the original orchestra members from Kyiv. These top-tier artists, winners of international competitions, have been based in Vienna since 2022 and have quickly established themselves as an integral part of the city’s musical life.

Many of them held leading positions in their homeland as concertmasters or principal players – roles that require the highest level of technical skill, musicality, and artistic excellence.

Today, they are also active in some of Austria’s most prominent ensembles, including the Camerata Salzburg, Concentus Musicus Wien, Bach Consort Wien, the RSO Wien (Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra), and the Vienna State Opera.

Under the direction of Mikheil Menabde, the Armonia Ludus ensemble performed for the first time in its new formation in 2022 at the Lokremise St. Gallen (Switzerland). In 2023, a celebrated concert followed at the Palais Ferstel in collaboration with the famous Georgian singer Nino Katamadze, and in 2024, the orchestra made its debut at the prestigious Vienna Musikverein.

Mikheil Menabde

“Anyone who wants to understand the sound of our time and its evolution should definitely engage with the music of contemporary composers from around the world.”

Mikheil Menabde began his artistic career as a soloist at the State Opera and Ballet Theatre of Tbilisi, where he performed for ten years. He received his dance training from the legendary Giorgi Aleksidze.

Choreographers – much like conductors – learn to read scores in order to understand musical structures more deeply. This skill ultimately led Menabde to music and conducting.

At the age of 25, he began his studies at the State Conservatory in Tbilisi, and on the advice of composer Giya Kancheli, he continued his training at the National Music Academy of Ukraine under Roman Kofman.

Since 2017, Menabde has been living in Vienna, where he successfully completed his conducting studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw).

As a regular guest conductor of the Kyiv Philharmonic and the Georgian National Symphony Orchestra, he appears frequently at major contemporary music festivals throughout Europe and has earned an outstanding reputation for his compelling interpretations.

In addition to his conducting work, Mikheil Menabde is also Artistic Director of Chamber Orchestra Armonia ludus and Vice President of the association CosmoKultur.