Bachauer Gold Medalist Lukas Geniušas and Cliburn Silver Medalist Anna Geniushene—an electrifying husband-and-wife duo—perform a bold two-piano program featuring works by Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances, Adams’ Hallelujah Junction, and Copland’s El Salón México.
Praised for his “brilliance and maturity” (The Guardian), Russian-Lithuanian pianist Lukas Geniušas has firmly established himself as one of the most exciting and distinctive artists of his generation.
Lukas is heard in concert at prestigious venues all over the world, including Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Salle Gaveau, Louvre Auditorium, and the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. He regularly appears at festivals such as the Gilmore Keyboard Festival, Verbier Festival, and La Roque d’Anthéron.
Lukas has performed with major international orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre de Paris, under the batons of such conductors as Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikhail Pletnev, Leonard Slatkin.
Recent highlights include concerts with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse and Dima Slobodeniouk, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Maxim Emelyanchev and a tour with the Flanders Symphony Orchestra and Kristiina Poska. A dedicated chamber musician, he records and performs regularly with the violinist Aylen Pritchin, with his wife, the pianist Anna Geniushene, and with the soprano Asmik Grigorian.
Lukas has recently performed a series of concerts of the first public performances of the original, unabridged version of Rachmaninov’s First Piano Sonata. This recently released CD – which received 5-star reviews inBBC Music and Gramophone Magazine - was awarded both the Diapason “CD of the Month” and selected as one of the most outstanding CDs released in 2024 in Classica Magazine’s “CHOC DE 2024” selection.
Born in Moscow in 1990, Lukas Geniušas graduated from the Chopin Music College in Moscow. He is the laureate of international competitions, notably Gold Medalist of the 2010 Bachauer Artists Competition and Silver Medalist at the 2010 International Chopin Competition and 2015 Tchaikovsky Competition.
Anna Geniushene’s fresh, layered, and powerful interpretations defined her participation at the 2022 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—and won her the coveted silver medal and the adoration of fans around the globe. And the critics couldn’t get enough: “powerhouse sound, forceful musical personality, and sheer virtuosity…had this critic on the edge of his seat” (Musical America); “a performance of rare devotion and insight” (Onstage NTX); “a fresh version…that had this listener hanging on every bar” (La Scena).
Accolades ensued—Musical America named her “Young Artist of the Month” in July 2022 and Pianist magazine featured her on the cover in June 2023—and invitations from well-respected institutions followed. Recent and upcoming highlights include debut recitals for Washington Performing Arts at the Kennedy Center, Wiener Konzerthaus, Tonhalle Zurich, and the Bravo! Vail and Grand Teton Music Festivals, and collaborations with the Taipei and Lithuanian Symphony Orchestras and conductors Gábor Takács-Nagy, Eliahu Inbal, and Miguel Harth-Bedoya. Anna’s newest album—a deeply personal project of lullabies spanning several centuries—was released in September 2023.
Born in Moscow on New Year’s Day in 1991, Anna made her recital debut just seven years later in the small hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. She has since developed a diverse and versatile career as an artist: performances in major venues in North and South America, Europe, and Asia; and a dedication to chamber music, including duo piano repertoire with her husband, Lukas Geniušas. She currently resides in Lithuania with her husband and their two young sons.
SERGEI RACHMANINOFF
Symphonic Dances, op.45
INTERMISSION
AARON COPLAND
El Salón México
COLIN MCPHEE
Balinese Ceremonial Music
JOHN ADAMS
Hallellujah Junction
