Source: LRT
Read more: 08.02 | Petras Geniušas ir Fali Pavri
On August 2, Paliesius Manor will welcome one of Lithuania’s most renowned pianists, Petras Geniušas, alongside the internationally acclaimed Indian-born UK pianist Fali Pavri.
Like magicians, they will coax the piano to speak, subtly revealing the secrets of each piece in the program.
Among Lithuanian performers, Petras Geniušas stands out for the versatility of his interests and his constant, often daring, pursuit of new forms of expression and extraordinary musical and spiritual experiences. Having mastered a broad repertoire of classical, romantic, and contemporary works, he performs recitals and appears as a soloist with Lithuanian symphony orchestras, various chamber ensembles, distinguished soloists, and conductors. His stage partners have included M. Rostropovich, Y. Menuhin, R. Katilius, A. Kniazev, D. Geringas, V. Noreika, V. Chekasin, and V. Tarasov. Yet the traditional role of a classical pianist is too narrow for Petras Geniušas: he can often be seen on stage accompanying drama productions, ballets, or even cabaret, and participating in cross-genre projects that blend jazz with various musical styles. An innate curiosity drives him not to limit himself to the experience and activities of a classical pianist, tirelessly expanding his musical horizons—from English virginalists and global folklore to avant-garde music, jazz, and electronics. In turn, all of these interests enrich Petras Geniušas’s classical music practice. Alongside his cultivated musical taste, technique, and sensitivity to sound, this is perhaps one of the pianist’s most valuable qualities.
Petras Geniušas was born into a family of musicians in Vilnius. He studied under Prof. Jurgis Karnavičius at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre, and later under Prof. Vera Gornostayeva at the Moscow Conservatory. Having won several top awards at prestigious piano competitions (including the 2nd Prize at the Pilar Bayona Piano Competition in Zaragoza in 1989; the 1st Prize at the Y.C.A.A. International Piano Competition in Oberlin and the 3rd Prize at the A.M.S.A. World Piano Competition in Cincinnati in 1991; and the 1st Prize at the Palm Beach Invitational International Piano Competition in 1992), he established himself as one of the most talented and mature pianists of his generation. Alongside his regular concert activities in Lithuania, Petras Geniušas has gained international recognition through performances in over forty countries and at some of the world’s most famous concert venues—the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, Alice Tully Hall and Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York, the Tokyo Geijitsu Geikijo, and the Vienna Musikverein.
Constant contact with young pianists helps Petras Geniušas share his accumulated experience and interests. He is known as a demanding and inspiring teacher, leading masterclasses in Vilnius, Tokyo, and Osaka, at the Royal Academy of Music in London (1996–1998), at the Swedish-Lithuanian masterclasses “Academia Baltica,” and teaching at the Yamaha masterclasses in Tokyo from 1992 to 1998. Currently, Petras Geniušas is a professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Since 2015, he has been teaching at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.
His discography includes several recordings highly praised by critics and audiences alike, released by various German, Japanese, and Lithuanian labels. In 2004, a documentary film directed by Monika Juozapavičiūtė, “Improvizacija. Tema: Petras Geniušas,” was released, presenting the pianist not as a tailcoated “lion” of the concert halls, but in his everyday environment in Vilnius, Moscow, and London with his family, friends, colleagues, and students.
For his extensive concert and creative activities, Petras Geniušas was awarded the Lithuanian National Prize for Culture and Arts (1992) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Award (2004). In 2011, Petras Geniušas was awarded the Ministry of Culture’s Badge of Honor “Nešk savo šviesą ir tikėk.” In 2015, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas.
Pianist Fali Pavri enjoys a busy international career as a soloist, chamber musician, and educator. F. Pavri has performed with many prominent musicians worldwide, including cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, David Geringas, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Schmidt, and Tim Gill, violinists Nicola Benedetti and Ilya Gringolts, the London Sinfonietta, the Vellinger and Vertavo quartets, the Leopold Trio and Paragon ensembles, the Scottish Ensemble, clarinetist Andrew Marriner, singers Roderick Williams and Mark Padmore, and composer Mauricio Kagel. He is a member of the Rembrandt Piano Trio and also plays in a duo with his wife, cellist Naomi Boole-Masterson.
F. Pavri took his first piano lessons with Shanti Seldon in his hometown of Mumbai, India, before studying for seven years at the Moscow Conservatory in the class of Victor Merzhanov, graduating with honors. During his postgraduate studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where he studied under Christopher Elton, the world-renowned Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich invited the artist to be his pianist for a major concert tour of India. Following this, F. Pavri made his London debut at the Purcell Room, and has since performed in prestigious venues around the world.
F. Pavri has performed concertos with the St Endellion Festival Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of India, and the Edinburgh and Dundee Symphony Orchestras. As a recitalist, he has given concerts at Wigmore Hall with cellists Wolfgang Schmidt and Tim Gill, played on tours across India, South Africa, Norway, and the United Kingdom, and appeared at international music festivals in India, Denmark, Norway, Cyprus, and the USA.
F. Pavri is an enthusiastic proponent of contemporary music and has given the world premieres of many works written by distinguished composers. Among these works are Giles Swayne’s cello sonata, performed with Robert Irvine at the Cheltenham International Festival; piano pieces by British composer Howard Skempton performed at the Leamington Spa Festival; the world premiere of Serbian-US composer Vera Stanojevic’s work for piano and percussion “In memoriam”; and the first performance of Scottish composer William Sweeney’s sonata for cello and piano, alongside Finnish cellist Erkki Lahesmaa.
F. Pavri has released two CDs of Swiss piano concertos, performed with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. His recording of works by Volkmar Andreae was awarded the highly coveted “IRR Outstanding” accolade by the International Record Review. Among other CDs released by the Guild label are two critically acclaimed recordings with cellist Timothy Gill, which featured the premiere recordings of two works by Indian composer John Mayer (“Prabhanda” and “Calcutta Nagar”). And in 2009, F. Pavri and tenor Richard Edgar-Wilson recorded the world premiere of British composer Anthony Bolton’s song cycle “Black Sea.” The “Dephian” label released works by Giles Swayne and William Sweeney, recorded by F. Pavri and cellist Robert Irvine.
F. Pavri is frequently broadcast on the radio, particularly on BBC Radio 3, where he has performed several unusual and demanding programs, such as Christian Sinding’s Piano Quintet with the Vertavo Quartet, and Alexander Goehr’s “Das Gessetz der Quadrille” with baritone Roderick Williams. The artist also recorded pieces with Mstislav Rostropovich for All-India Radio and CBC Radio (this was the North American premiere of Mauricio Kagel’s work “La trahison orale”).
F. Pavri is the Associate Head of the Keyboard Department and Professor of Piano at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, a dedicated and highly regarded teacher whose students have won numerous international awards. He has given masterclasses in many countries worldwide: recently in Estonia, Lithuania, Finland, Cyprus, India, the USA, and South Africa. He has also served as a jury member for many international competitions, such as the University of South Africa competition, the Van Cliburn Amateur Competition in Texas, the inaugural Olga Kern Competition in New Mexico, and the Malta Festival in Valletta.