Gabrielius Alekna
The winner of the second prize at the 2005 International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, Austria, pianist Gabrielius Alekna has appeared as a soloist in Vienna’s Musikverein with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (RSO Wien) under the baton of Bertrand de Billy. Mr. Alekna has been a featured soloist with the Juilliard Orchestra and the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra in New York, and with the Belarus State Symphony Orchestra in Minsk, while in his native country the pianist appears regularly with major orchestras including the National Symphony, the State Symphony, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, and the Christopher Chamber Orchestra. Described by Daniel Barenboim as “a highly gifted pianist and musician,” Mr. Alekna has garnered more than a dozen top prizes in competitions on both sides of the Atlantic, such as Hilton Head (United States), Maria Canals (Spain), and Čiurlionis (Lithuania) International Piano Competitions. His recording of complete Mots by the Lithuanian composer Vytautas Bacevičius was released in 2012 on the British label ‘Toccata Classics,’ and involved collaborations with the two-time Grammy winning producer Judith Sherman and the four-time Grammy-nominated pianist Ursula Oppens. In 2013/2014, Gabrielius Alekna gives solo recitals at New York’s Weill Recital Hall of Carnegie Hall, Washington, D.C.’s National Gallery, Polish Institute in Rome, Italy, and the United Nations headquarters in Geneva; performs concertos of Witold Lutoslawski and Beethoven with Wartburg Community Symphony (Iowa) and Belarus State Symphony Orchestra; and records Vytautas Bacevičius’ piano concertos for 'Naxos' with the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra and the three-time Grammy nominated conductor Christopher Lyndon-Gee. Gabrielius Alekna’s chamber performances in 2012/2013 include recitals with the cellists Caroline Stinson, Ann Alton, the violinist Bartlomiej Niziol, and Čiurlionis Quartet. Gabrielius Alekna has a special interest in education and development of young talent. Since 2011, he has been teaching as a Visiting Associate Professor at the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania, and in 2013 has co-founded the Birštonas Summer Arts Academy (Lithuania).

Gabrielius Alekna’s recordings include piano works by Jeronimas Kačinskas, released by 'Toccata Classics' in 2013, and a CD of cello and piano music recorded together with Edvardas Armonas and released in 2007 by the Lithuanian National Radio. Mr. Alekna’s other engagements have included solo recitals in Vienna’s Musikverein, Bösendorfer Saal, and Stadtsalon, New York’s Deutsches Haus, Adelphi University, large halls of National Philharmonic Societies of Lithuania and Belarus, and Greenwich, Connecticut’s Bruce Museum; a recital tour of ten U.S. and Canadian cities in celebration of the 100-year anniversary of Lithuania’s most important composer and painter Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911); Beehoven’s ‘Emperor’ Concerto in New York’s Symphony Space; performance of Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion with the pianist Ursula Oppens and the New York Philharmonic’s timpanist Joe Pereira in New York’s Yamaha Piano Salon; chamber music appearances with the cellist Zvi Harel (Israel) and the Vilnius String Quartet; and performances at festivals such as Liszt in Vredenburg Festival in Utrecht (Netherlands), Music Festival of the Hamptons (New York), Piano Century and Chamberfest at Alice Tully Hall (New York), and Europeisches Musikfest Muensterland (Muenster, Germany). In 2003, Mr. Alekna was one of only six pianists invited by Carnegie Hall (New York) for The Daniel Barenboim Workshop: The Beethoven Piano Sonatas. His recorded concerto performances were broadcast on the BBC, Österreich 1, and EuroClassic radio programs in twelve European countries, while in the US he was heard on WQXR (New York) and on XM satellite radio (Channel 113). The pianist was named the Artist in Residence for the 2002-2003 season at International House, New York, a community of selected graduate students and interns from around the globe.

Born in Vilnius, Lithuania, the pianist began his music studies at the age of five. After graduation from the National M. K. Čiurlionis School for the Arts in Vilnius, he continued his studies at the Lithuanian Music Academy. In 1996, Gabrielius Alekna was invited to attend the Juilliard School, where he studied with Jerome Lowenthal, receiving Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees there and becoming the first Lithuanian to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the Juilliard School.

Lithuanian National Philharmony
Established in 1940, the Lithuanian National Philharmonic Society (LNPS) remains the largest and oldest state owned concert organisation in Lithuania, whose main activity is to organise and coordinate live concerts, diverse classical/classical contemporary/jazz music events and tours throughout Lithuania and abroad. In July 1998, the LNPS was officially granted the status of national cultural institution. Since 2006 Rūta Prusevičienė has served as its Director General.

Over the seven decades of its activity it has been committed to nurturing Lithuania’s musical culture and performing arts; to making the treasures of classical and contemporary music accessible to the local audiences; and to ensuring the highest standard of artistic excellence demonstrated by the soloists, orchestras and ensembles it represents. Among its primary goals is to promote the art of Lithuanian musical performers and composers by organising and presenting new musical programmes in Lithuania and abroad each year.

The LNPS has its headquarters in Vilnius (with the Main Auditorium of 678 seats and the Chamber Hall of 200 seats). Its concert season normally extends from September through May in Vilnius and during the summer months in other localities.