Musical afternoon for the whole family CHRISTMAS TALE "THE SNOWMAN"

Performer

GINTARAS JANUŠEVIČIUS (piano)

Author of the story Raymond Briggs

Composer Howard Blake

Lithuanian translation Gintaras Januševičius

Young and old are invited to experience a magical story about imagination and friendship, about love and loss. The story begins on Christmas Eve, when a lonely boy builds a snowman in his backyard and soon plunges into a night-time adventure full of wonders.

The story will be told by pianist GINTARAS JANUŠEVIČIUS, well-known to the Lithuanian public for his interesting programs, who, having become a father, is increasingly adding works for young listeners to his repertoire. G. Januševičius' new stage challenge is Howard Blake's "The Snowman". This is a work written in 1982, inspired by the cult children's book by author Raymond Briggs. The story, written and illustrated by R. Briggs himself, has been one of the most popular and iconic children's books in the world for almost 50 years, perfectly conveying the wonder and innocence of childhood. The film based on this work was voted into the top three of Great Britain's favorite Christmas programs of all time. In an interactive performance of the work, G. Januševičius will play the piano version of the piece, engagingly telling the story in Lithuanian and even singing. Throughout the concert, the audience will be invited to use pantomime to contribute to this beautiful Christmas story, full of adventures and contrasts.

The concert will also feature excerpts from Balys Dvarionas' cycle "Winter Sketches".

Pianist, storyteller, and radio host G. JANUŠEVIČIUS combines virtuoso pianism with texts, movement, scents, and other theatrical elements in his concert programs. A laureate of the International M. K. Čiurlionis Piano and Organ Competition and a finalist of the famous Montreal Music Competition, he is one of the pioneers of the narrative recital in Lithuania, and his programs "The Little Prince", "The New Colossus", and "Stories of the Merchant of Venice" are successfully performed all over the world. Due to the transformations of the repertoire and stage elements accompanying each of his programs, he was dubbed a "chameleon" in the German press. In Lithuania, "The Story of Babar the Little Elephant" for children, performed together with the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, has been a great success, in which G. Januševičius is a pianist, storyteller, scriptwriter, and music arranger.