JULIJA SADAUNYKAITĖ (piano)

DONALDAS RAČYS (piano)

Programme:

Robert Schumann - Sonata No.1 in F sharp minor, Op.11

Johannes Brahms - Fantasias, Op.116;

Sonata for two pianos in F minor, Op.34b

Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms were two great German Romantics who undoubtedly influenced the entire musical culture of Western Europe. The composers were friends and collaborators who shared not only artistic but also life values. The friendship that accompanied these brilliant composers throughout their lives was full of light - joy, elation, and shadow - doubt, loss and sadness.

 Pianists Julija Sadaunykaitė and Donaldas Račys will perform tonight two significant opuses by these composers: Schumann's Sonata No.1 and Brahms' Fantasias, Op.116. The concert programme will also include Brahms' Sonata for Two Pianos in F minor, which is now 160 years old.

JULIJA SADAUNYKAITĖ is a lecturer at the Academy of Music of the VMU and a student of the Soloist Programme at the Royal Danish Academy of Music. She is a winner of the Grand Prix International Competition in Valletta (Malta), an active performer as a soloist and chamber musician. Her innate musicality has been a source of fascination for critics and audiences alike. She has studied at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Austria, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow, and numerous courses. Sadaunykaitė has given solo concerts in Poland, Sweden, Austria, Italy, Great Britain, Malta, USA, China.

 Professor of the Academy of Music of VMU, Head of the Piano Department, pianist DONALDAS RAČYS performs as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He has given concerts in Germany, Italy, the United States, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Poland, China, lectures and masterclasses in Chicago, Czestochowa, the Italian Conservatories of Genoa, Frosinone, Pesaro, Verona, Milan, and has taken part in the Yamaha Piano Week (China, Beijing), and the Olympus Musicus (the Czech Republic, Prague) international music festivals. D. Račys is a jury member of national and international competitions. The pianist pays great attention to his pedagogical work, many of his students are laureates of various national and international competitions.