Andrius Žlabys was born in Vilnius on April 9, 1977. From 1983-1984, he studied at Vilnius S. Nėris Secondary School, and from 1982-1994, he attended the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, in the class of Laimutė Jakniūnienė. He studied at the Interlochen Arts Center in Michigan, United States, under Victoria Mushkatkol (piano) and Joseph DeFazio (composition). Andrius Žlabys won two Interlochen competitions and performed Beethoven's Third and Fourth Concertos with the central school orchestra. He studied at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, United States, from 1995-2000 with Seymour Lipkin. He also participated in courses with André Laplante and Sergei Babayan at the Orford Music Centre in Quebec, Canada. He completed his studies with a piano performance degree under Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music from 2000-2005. He attended open classes with C. Frank, L. Fleisher, G. Graffman, A. Schiff, M. Perahia, and other famous performers and educators. In 1998, Andrius attended the Music Academy of the West summer festival in Santa Barbara, California (United States), led by Jerome Lowenthal. He became a competition winner and performed the symphonic variations of C. Franck with the festival orchestra. Later, the recording of this concert was broadcasted on American National Radio. Andrius Žlabys and famous violinist Hilary Hahn performed Brahms and Beethoven's chamber sonatas in 1998. Among the 17 concerts in these American-European tours, he debuted at the Carnegie Hall with the New York Youth Symphony Orchestra, directed by M. Santora. He has played with the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, State Vilnius Quartet, Curtis Institute, Western Music Academy Orchestra, Gidon Kremer, and Yuri Bashmet. He has participated in festivals and concert tours in Europe and Japan with Gidon Kremer and the Kremerata Baltica chamber orchestra, including J. Haydn's Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra. Andrius Žlabys has received many positive reviews and articles about his performances, individual concerts, and improvisation skills in Lithuania, Germany, the United States, and other countries' press. He was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2003 for his recording of Enescu Piano Quintet with Gidon Kremer and Kremerata Baltica. Andrius Žlabys has a diverse repertoire, including J.S. Bach, as well as being a strong advocate of contemporary music. He was the winner of the Astral Artists National competition in 2000. Andrius Žlabys began studying piano at the age of six next to Laima Jakniūnienė at the M.K. Čiurlionis School of Art in Vilnius, and continued his studies in the United States with teachers Victoria Mushkatkol (Interlochen Arts Academy), Seymour Lipkin (Curtis Institute of Music), Sergei Babayan (Cleveland Institute of Music), and Claude Frank (Yale School of Music).
