October 18, 2024, 7 pm

LVSO Concert Hall

LVSO| LUKAS GENIUŠAS PERFORMS M. RAVEL

M. K. Čiurlionis. Preludes for symphony orchestra

M. Ravel. Piano Concerto for Left Hand in D major

L. van Beethoven. Symphony No. 5 in C minor ("Symphony of Destiny")

Lukas Geniušas, piano

Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Gintaras Rinkevičius

Pianist Lukas Geniušas has established himself as one of the most interesting and distinctive artists of his generation. "Splendour and maturity, winning talent and profound interpretation", is how the influential British daily The Guardian summed up his performance in 2016. Today, Geniuš's name is increasingly heard around the world - in 2022, together with opera soloist Asmik Grigorian, the pianist won the prestigious Gramophone Classical Music Award for their collaborative work on Sergei Rachmaninoff's album of romances, Dissonance. Geniušas is regularly invited to give recitals in the world's most famous concert halls, such as London's Wigmore Hall, Amstedarm's Concertgebouw, Paris' Salle Gaveau, Louvre Auditorium, New York's Frick Collection, Washington's Phillips Collection, Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice, Milan's Sala Verdi, and others. Tonight's performance will feature the French composer Maurice Ravel's (1875-1937) Piano Concerto for Left Hand in D major, written especially for the Austrian pianist Paul Wittgenstein, who lost his right hand in the First World War.

The second part of the concert will feature one of the world's most famous classical works, L. van Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. "Thus fate knocks at the door", L. van Beethoven wrote about the recurring motif in the symphony, which has been called by critics "the most famous four notes in the history of Western music". After his death, the symphony was given the title "Symphony of Destiny" because of these words. Van Beethoven's contemporary, E.T.A. Hoffmann, wrote: "This magnificent composition climbs and climbs and climbs, leading the listener into the spiritual world of the Infinite. The soul of every listener is touched by the spiritual reality created by this music, where sorrow and joy take the form of music."

The Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be conducted tonight by its founder, artistic director and chief conductor, Maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius, winner of the National Prize.