Charismatic and unpredictable piano music great Petras Geniušas has prepared a special gift for the XXI International Arts Festival "Druskininkai Summer with Čiurlionis" alongside the German genius R. Schumann's cycle "Bunte Blätter" ("Speckled Leaves") - solo improvisations by M.

The performer has been "sick" with the "improvisational virus" for many years, and the audience has already had the opportunity to admire the new ideas of P. Geniušas with the masters of this genre, V. Čekasinas, L. Mockūnas, etc.

P. Geniušas was born into a family of musicians in Vilnius. He studied with Prof. Jurgis Karnavičius at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and later with Prof. Vera Gornostaeva at the Moscow Conservatory. He has won several top prizes at prestigious piano competitions (including the 2nd Prize at the Piano Competition of Pilar Bayona in Zaragoza (1989); the 1st Prize at the Y.C.A.A. International Piano Competition in Oberlin; and the 3rd Prize at the A.A.M.S.A. World Piano Competition in Cincinnati (1991); 1st Prize at the Palm Beach International Visiting Piano Competition (1992)), he has established himself as one of the most gifted and mature pianists of his generation. Continuing his regular concert activity in Lithuania, Geniušas has earned international recognition for his performances in more than forty countries and in the world's most famous concert halls, including the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Lincoln Center's Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls in New York, Tokyo's Geijitsu Geijo, and the Musikverein in Vienna. His innate curiosity encourages him to go beyond his experience and activities as a classical pianist, and he has tirelessly expanded his musical horizons, from the English Virginians and folk music from around the world, to avant-garde music, jazz and electronics. All these interests feed back into the pianist's own classical music practice. In addition to his sophisticated musical taste, technique and sensitivity to sound, this is one of the most valuable qualities of this pianist.

For his wide-ranging concert and artistic activities, P. Geniušas has been awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Art and Culture (1992) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Prize (2004).In 2011, the pianist was awarded the Honorary Badge of the Ministry of Culture "Carry Your Light and Believe", and in 2015 he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Order of the Grand Duke Gediminas of Lithuania.