GINTARAS JANUŠEVIČIUS - pianist and reader (Lithuania/Germany)

Antoine de Saint-Exupery's novella, brought to life in miniatures by 27 French composers

For ten years now, the pianist Gintaras Januševičius has been astonishing his audience with his inventive programmes. His audiences will not long forget his "Dreamcatcher", "All Chopin Waltzes", "The New Colossus" or "The Merchant of Venice Stories". In each programme, Januševičius, like a chameleon, not only transforms himself into different characters, but also moves to a different era, culture or musical style. Over the years, he has been developing his unique programmes, carefully selecting works and seemingly assembling them into a seamless musical necklace, which he embellishes with narratives, images, acting elements or even smells. With his innovative concert ideas, he has captivated audiences in New York, Paris, London, Zurich, Rio de Janeiro, as well as returning to Lithuanian concert halls year after year.

Now he takes on his biggest challenge to date. After creating a draft programme in 2016, seven years later he presents his solo programme The Little Prince. In it, Januševičius is both pianist and storyteller, using the magic of musical sounds to give the legendary story of Antoine de Saint-Exupery a form never seen before. The philosophical text of the book is enveloped by 27 piano miniatures by 19th- and 20th-century French composers. Their authors include the well-known Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Georges Bizet, Camille Saint-Saëns, as well as the lesser-known Jehan Alain, Gabriel Grovlez, Jean-Henri Ravina or Cécile Chaminade. The concert can thus be called both a mono-spectacle and a kind of retrospective of French music.

The pianist, who lives in Germany and performs all over the world, rose to fame in 2004, when he became the youngest finalist of the International Montreal Piano Competition, and his Etudes-Pictures Op. 39 by S. Rachmaninoff, which were performed in the competition, were praised by such masters of the piano as Jean-Philippe Collard, Kum-Sing Lee, Michel Dalberto, Benedetto Lupo. As a soloist he has appeared with more than 30 orchestras, presented solo and chamber programmes in many cities in Lithuania and Germany, and appeared in venues such as Barcelona's Palau de la Musica Catalana, Wiurzburg's Residence, Montreal's Wilfrid Pelletier, Madrid's Auditorium, the Shenzhen Concert Hall, Paris' Salle Cortot, and Tallinn's Rahvusooper Estonia. He has participated in many international festivals, including the prestigious festivals Chopin Duszniki-Zdroj (Poland), Mozartfest and Dresdner Musikfestspiele (Germany), Festival Besançon (France), etc. In 2017, he founded the largest piano academy in the Baltic States, Klaipėda Piano Masters, and in 2021, he joined the team of LRT KLASIKA, where he is continuing to foster his passion for music education.