British born Lydia Kakabadse “is a phenomenon” (Gapplegate Classical Modern Music).   A “very gifted and accessible composer” (MusicWeb International), Lydia composes choral, chamber and vocal music.  Of Russian/Georgian and Greek/Austrian parentage, she grew up in Cheshire and started composing at the age of 13.  Her works include string quartets, string duet, mixed ensembles, songs, musical drama, cantata, concert Requiem Mass and sacred/ secular choral works for male voices, mixed choir (SATBB) and children’s choir.    Demonstrating “a mastery of counterpoint and a richness of ideas“ (MusicWeb International), her distinctive style incorporates tonal and modal harmonies with Middle Eastern and medieval traits, infused with rich melody.   She also draws inspiration from poets of the Romantic era and Greek/Russian Orthodox liturgical music – “Kakabadse’s talent at writing in the Greek Orthodox music style is supreme” (Tamvakos Archive).  

Lydia’s works have been released on CD under the Naxos and Divine Art labels to critical acclaim: “highly recommended disc” (Music for Several Instruments); “extremely enjoyable disc of chamber and vocal music” (Choir and Organ); “a must-have CD” (The Chronicle).  Her works have been widely performed, commissioned and broadcast and her popular string quartet, Russian Tableaux, has been broadcast on BBC Radio 3 several times to mark International Women’s Day.  Keen to promote the double bass in her chamber works, Lydia’s string quartets are scored for violin, viola, cello & double bass – a timbral combination which works well, with the double bass adding a great richness and abundance of colour to the quartet’s sonority.  Her album, Kefi, released in 2024, features a more diverse genre of music than previous albums, incorporating the Greek bouzouki into western classical chamber music – “she has a terrific ear for colour and combines instruments in a highly imaginative way” (Fanfare).

Choral commissions include I Remember for children’s voices, commissioned by Forest Preparatory School (Altrincham),  and Odyssey and Thirty Steps both commissioned by the Hellenic Institute at Royal Holloway, University of London to mark its 25th and 30th anniversaries in 2018 and 2023 respectively.  An excerpt from her choral album Cantica Sacra was included in a dance act on TV show “Britain’s Got Talent” in 2020.  Her works have been performed by acclaimed choirs and chamber ensembles including The Rossetti Ensemble and several of her works have been included in music festivals, such as the Three Choirs Festival Eucharist and Chatsworth Arts Festival.

Beginning piano lessons at the age of five and later studying the double bass under Ida Carroll OBE, Lydia read music at Royal Holloway, University of London, where she is currently undertaking a PhD in ethnomusicology.  She spent several years studying and performing Greek and Middle Eastern dance, which she also taught at adult education centres.  Rhythmic and melodic influences from these dances feature predominantly in her chamber music, most notably the “gorgeous Arabian Rhapsody Suite” (New Classics).   

Lydia has a keen interest in law (in which subject she holds a master’s degree) and worked as a commercial solicitor (lawyer) to fund her many music projects.  An avid writer, Lydia has written her own lyrics to some of her songs and her own original text in Latin to her musical drama, The Phantom Listeners.   During Covid lockdown she wrote a mystery novel, The Specially Chosen, as well as a collection of eight short stories, Entwined in Deceit.