Gintaras Januševičius

Gintaras Januševičius

Gintaras Januševičius in 2014
Born (1985-01-16) 16 January 1985
Moscow, Russian Federation
Years active 1999 - present

Gintaras Januševičius (Born 16 January 1985 in Moscow) is a Lithuanian pianist. He is renowned for his tender and original interpretations; particularly that of Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Liszt and Mussorgsky. His repertoire also includes many works of Lithuanian composers.

Biography

Education

Gintaras Januševičius was born in Moscow in a family of Lithuanian trumpeter Algirdas Januševičius and Tatar–Jewish composer Nailia Galiamova. The family left Moscow in 1987 and moved to Klaipėda, Lithuania. Gintaras began his musical training at the age of 4 at the Eduardas Balsys School of Arts in Klaipėda. In 1993 family decided to move to capital Vilnius, where his father was appointed the principal trumpeter at the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gintaras Rinkevičius. Januševičius then entered the National M. K. Čiurlionis School of Art.

He took his first piano lessons with Valentina Potejenko in Klaipėda. Later he was taught by Vale Kulikauskiene (1993–1998) and Jurgis Bialobžeskis (1998–2003) at the National M.K. Ciurlionis School or Arts in Vilnius. After graduating in 2003, Januševičius entered Lithuanian Academy of Music and Drama to study with Jurgis Bialobžeskis. In 2004 he moved to Hanover, Germany where his professor was late Vladimir Krainev. Jurgis Bialobžeskis remained his teacher and greatest advisor until his death in May 2008. In 2011 he joined the piano class of the famous German pianist and professor Bernd Goetzke at the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover.

Since 2001 he also had lessons with numerous famous pianists, most notably with Lazar Berman and his wife Valentina, Naum Shtarkman, Malcolm Bilson, Jurgis Karnavičius, among others.[1]

Notable recitals

Gintaras Januševičius made his orchestra debut at the age of 15, performing Capriccio Brillante of Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra under direction of Vytautas Lukočius. Same month, he entered a Great Hall of Moscow Conservatoire to perform Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488 of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Januševičius rose to fame in May 2004, after the performance at the semi-finals of the Montreal International Musical Competition. His interpretation of Études-Tableaux Op. 39 by Rachmaninoff was publicly praised by pianists Jean-Philippe Collard, Akiko Ebi, Michel Dalberto, Lee Kum-Sing, etc. Christophe Huss of Classics Today wrote in his article:

Gintaras Januševičius glides, like an albatross. His semi-final and final performances were rare revelations for me; they fall outside the scope of competition <...> because they are neither rankable nor quantifiable. All eyes were on Januševičius after the semi-finals, on which he had left his imprint as a kind of apparition from another place, notably with his performance of Rachmaninoff's Études-tableaux Opus 39. <...> We saw him shake up the rhythms, moving forward, straight as a pin, with the simplicity of the master and the vitality of the young man he is. Never is it used for effect, never does the left hand try to gain the upper hand.[2]

Up to the date, Gintaras has performed with over 30 orchestras, including Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Lithuanian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, Shenzhen Symphony Orchestra, Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra of the Balearic Islands, Ural Philharmonic Orchestra, Chişinău Symphony Orchestra, etc. and visiting famous halls, like Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, Residenz Würzburg, Auditorio de Zaragoza, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier in Montreal, Estonia Theatre in Tallinn, Shenzhen Concert Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris etc. His solo recitals were organized in most towns of Lithuania, as well as Paris, Berlin, Tallinn, European Capital of Culture of 2005 Cork, Moscow, Warsaw, Chişinău, Hamamatsu and others. He participated in famous festivals, including The International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki-Zdrój,[3] Besançon International Music Festival, Braunschweig Classix, Mozart Festival Würzburg, Dresdner Musikfestspiele etc.

Repertoire

Gintaras Januševičius sets priority on piano compositions by Rachmaninoff. He performed all of his Études-Tableaux, Morceaux de Fantaisie, Songs, most of the Preludes, Suites for two pianos Op. 5 and Op. 17, Trio élégiaque No. 1, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2, Piano Sonata No. 2, Cello Sonata and other works. Other of his most performed solo works include Pictures at an Exhibition of Mussorgsky, Six Pieces for Piano, Op. 118 of Brahms, Dante Sonata of Liszt, "Waldstein" and "Moonlight" sonatas of Beethoven, complete Scherzi, Ballades, Waltzes and Barcarolle of Chopin etc. Gintaras performed piano concertos of Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, Gershwin, Shostakovich, Khachaturian, Ravel, Martinu etc. As an accomplished performer of the contemporary music he collaborates with composers like Jörg Widmann, Victoria Poleva, Ladislav Kupkovič, Nailia Galiamova, Derek Woods, and many others.[4]

Recent projects

In 2008 he created and became the artistic director of "Plathner's Eleven" concert series in Hanover. He left this position in July 2015, becoming the honorary artistic director. 2009-2011 he acted as an artistic director of the "Plathner's Eleven International Composers Competition". In 2013 he created music competition "Die Hannoversche Börse der Musiktalente" and serves as its executive producer. Since 2015 he serves as the artistic director of piano competition "Klavierfrühling Einbeck". Since 2009 he taught open master classes in Japan, China, Brazil, Switzerland, Germany, Lithuania, Latvia, Israel, Romania, Spain and Moldova. Since 2015 he serves as piano professor at the international Birštonas Summer Academy of Arts.

Personal life

Janusevicius lives in Hanover together with his wife Brigita, whom he married in August 2015.

International Piano Competition record

Year Competition City Result Additional Prizes
2001 Russia International Festival "School of Muses"[5] Moscow Laureate
2002 Estonia International Frédéric Chopin Piano Competition[6] Narva Grand Prix
2003 Lithuania International Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Piano and Organ Competition Vilnius Final Diploma
2004 Canada Montreal International Musical Competition[7] Montreal Final Diploma
2005 Lithuania Yamaha Piano Competition Vilnius 1st Prize
2006 Estonia International Tallinn Piano Competition[8] Tallinn Final Diploma
2007 France International Competition "Piano Campus"[9] Pontoise 3rd Prize Audience Award, Orchestra Award & Composer Award
2007 Lithuania International Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis Piano and Organ Competition[10][11] Vilnius 3rd Prize Special Prize, established be the Čiurlionis Quartet
2008 Greece International Rhodes Piano Competition Rhodes Final Diploma
2010 Italy International Pinerolo Piano Competition[12] Pinerolo 2nd Prize Special Prize for the best performance of a Beethoven Sonata, established by Patrizia Cerutti
2010 Germany International Piano Competition "Neue Sterne" [13] Wernigerode 2nd Prize
2010 Spain International Piano Competition "Palma de Mallorca"[14] Palma, Majorca 1st Prize
2010 Spain International Ibiza Piano Competition[15] Cala de Sant Vicent 2nd Prize
2011 Germany International Frédéric Chopin Piano Society Competition[16] Hanover 1st Prize
2011 Israel Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition[17] Tel-Aviv Semi-Final
2011 China International Shenzhen Piano Concerto Competition Shenzhen Semi-Final Special Prize for an Outstanding Semi-Final Performance

References

  1. ↑ "Lithuanian Music Performers Information Center". Musicperformers.lt. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Christophe Huss, The Albatross, 01 06 2004
  3. ↑ http://www.chopin.festival.pl/festiwal-chopinowski/66-festiwal/66-festiwal-biuletyn-nr-4
  4. ↑ "Lithuanian Music Performers Information Center". Musicperformers.lt. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  5. ↑ "Таланты ХХI века". Московская правда.
  6. ↑ "Финальный аккорд Шопенианы". Молодежь Эстонии.
  7. ↑ CBC Arts (31 May 2004). "CBC News - Arts - World's best young pianists tickle the ivories in Montreal". Origin.www.cbc.ca. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  8. ↑ http://www.emc.ee/upl/dokumendid/the_first_intern_piano_comp_in_est.pdf
  9. ↑ "Lietuvių pianisto Gintaro Januševičiaus sėkmė Prancūzijoje". Balsas.lt. 9 March 2010. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  10. ↑ "Paskelbti M.K. Čiurlionio pianistų ir vargonininkų konkurso laureatai". Balsas.lt. 23 September 2007. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  11. ↑ "Literatūra ir menas. MUZIKA. M. K. ČIURLIONIO KONKURSO AIDAI". Culture.lt. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  12. ↑ "Spettacoli: la scuola russa domina a Pinerolo " Dcenza's Weblog". Dcenza. wordpress.com. Retrieved 13 March 2010.
  13. ↑ "G. Januševičius pripažintas vienu geriausių pianistų". delfi.lt.
  14. ↑ "Pianistui Gintarui Januševičiui Ispanijoje vykusiame konkurse atiteko auksas". bernardinai.lt.
  15. ↑ "El festival más internacional". Diario de Ibiza.
  16. ↑ "Spannendes Finale beim Klavierwettbewerb". Okka Mallek.
  17. ↑ "לוליינות ורגעי קסם: דיווח יומי מתחרות רובינשטיין לפסנתר". מערינ.
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