18 February 2022, 6pm
Duration: 2 hours
Price: €9,00 - €14,00
Venue: Kaunas State Philharmonic Hall (E. Ožeškienės Str. 12, Kaunas)
Piano ALEXANDER PALEY
Orchestra LITHUANIAN STATE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Conductor GINTARAS RINKEVIČIUS

CONCERT PROGRAMME

L. van Beethoven. Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, op. 37
D. Shostakovich. Simfonija Nr. 9 Es-dur, op. 70 Symphony No. 9 in E-flat major, op. 70

***

The talent and charisma of the fiery piano virtuoso Alexander Paley does not leave any member of the audience indifferent. The artist, who lives between New York and Paris, is welcomed in concert halls around the world, but always finds time to return to Lithuania. “I adore maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius. Throughout my career, I've played with a variety of conductors and orchestras, but I have to admit that playing with this Maestro is simply the best feeling", – says the famous pianist.

Already in 1991, after the pianist's debut with the US National Symphony Orchestra, “The Washington Post” called A. Paley's performance "simply flawless", which eventually led the pianist to perform with some of the world's most famous orchestras. The audience applauded him standing up, and critics praised him for "dazzling technical prowess", "convincing performance", "personal interpretations", and "an incredibly wide repertoire". Over the years, Paley's star is not extinguished - the pianist performs around 80 concerts worldwide every year. On this evening, A. Paley shall play Ludwig van Beethoven’s (1770-1827) Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor.

The second part of the concert will feature Dmitri Shostakovich's (1906–1975) Symphony No. 9, which the composer began writing in the first months after the war and later called "a sigh of relief after a gloomy hardship, with hope for the future". Although the Ninth Symphony is characterized by grace, lightness, and even an external brilliance, its hilarious character is by no means naive and balances on the edge of grotesque, and the lyricism intertwines with drama.

On this evening, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra will be conducted by its founder, artistic director and chief conductor, National Prize winner maestro Gintaras Rinkevičius.