“Jeronimas Kačinskas: Chamber and Instrumental Music” has been issued on “Toccata Classics” label. This is Gabrielius Alekna’s second CD on Toccata Classics, following a critically acclaimed recording of complete Mots by Vytautas Bacevičius.   Jeronimas Kačinskas (1907-1995) was one of the most prominent Lithuanian modernist composers who pioneered a number of compositional techniques such as microtonality and athematicism in his country.  On this recording, Gabrielius Alekna performs Kačinskas’ Reflections (composed in 1957), the composer’s best and most substantial cycle for piano, bursting with impressionistic colors and evoking different kind of beauty in each of its four movements. 

UK’s International Record Review and American Fanfare Magazine as well as theclassicalreview.com feature highly favorable reviews of “Vytautas Bacevičius: The Complete Mots.” Gabrielius Alekna’s first CD on the “Toccata Classics” label, it was launched in London in early 2012.   In recording the works by Lithuania’s leading modernist and one of the undiscovered pioneers of twentieth-century music, Gabrielius Alekna collaborated with the two-time Grammy winning producer Judith Sherman and the three-time Grammy-nominated pianist Ursula Oppens. More than half of the compositions on this CD are first recordings.

UK’s International Record Review and American Fanfare Magazine as well as theclassicalreview.com feature highly favorable reviews of “Vytautas Bacevičius: The Complete Mots.” Gabrielius Alekna’s first CD on the “Toccata Classics” label, it was launched in London in early 2012.   In recording the works by Lithuania’s leading modernist and one of the undiscovered pioneers of twentieth-century music, Gabrielius Alekna collaborated with the two-time Grammy winning producer Judith Sherman and the three-time Grammy-nominated pianist Ursula Oppens. More than half of the compositions on this CD are first recordings.

“Vytautas Bacevičius: The Complete Mots,” Gabrielius Alekna’s first CD on “Toccata Classics” label, has been launched in London on January 25, 2012.  The Lithuanian pianist and composer Vytautas Bacevičius (1905–70) is one of the undiscovered pioneers of twentieth-century music.  His series of seven Mots (‘Words’) for keyboard – five for solo piano, one for organ and one for two pianos – were written between 1933 and 1966 and show the evolution of his musical language from the post Skryabin style of the early works, via the influence of Prokofiev and Stravinsky, to a highly individual modernism, akin to that of two fellow radicals, Varèse and Wolpe.

Gabrielius Alekna is appointed a Visiting Associate Professor at the Music Academy of Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas, Lithuania. It will involve several residencies a year, each of them 2-3 weeks long, during which Gabrielius will give lessons, coachings, and master classes to the students, and collaborate with the faculty of this dynamic school. The first residency is scheduled for November 2011.

To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the most important Lithuanian visual artist and composer Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis (1875-1911), Gabrielius Alekna is undertaking a 12-city recital tour this September and October.  The tour will take him to Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Cleveland, Toronto, Detroit, Chicago, Boston, and other North American cities.  Details to follow soon in the Calendar section.

Why settle for piano lessons with a guitarist who also teaches drums and viola? This being NYC, start or continue your piano lessons with an actively performing classical pianist with Master’s and Doctoral degrees from the Juilliard School and prizes in top international competitions.  I have the necessary knowledge, experience, enthusiasm, and flexibility in teaching adults and children of all levels. I effectively help students reach their full potential, whether in their first steps in understanding and making music, or in preparation for performances/auditions.  Lessons take place either in my studio on Upper West Side, or in a student’s place.  Rates vary depending on location and other factors.  Please e-mail at [email protected] or call (917) 572 6121 – I would be happy to answer your questions.  References available.

This year, Gabrielius Alekna debuts with the New Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra (New York) and the New Symphony Orchestra (Bulgaria).  The performance in New York, of the glorious ‘Emperor’ piano concerto by Ludwig van Beethoven, will take place in Symphony Space, New York, on April 7, 2011. Later in the year, for his debut with the New Symphony Orchestra in Sofia, Bulgaria, Gabrielius Alekna will play Witold Lutoslawski’s concerto for piano and orchestra, one of the most brilliant works in this genre from the second half of the 20th century.

The Lithuanian Ministry of Culture honors Gabrielius Alekna by awarding him a Young Artist Prize (Jaunojo kūrėjo premija).  The Prize is given annually to three artists across a wide range of artistic disciplines who have distinguished themselves with their work both nationally and internationally.  The other two awards this year went to a choreographer and a designer of interactive installations.