LNSO concert features violin celebrity ILYA GRINGOLTS, trio "FortVio", conductor Modestas Pitrėnas

Violin celebrity ILYA GRINGOLTS to perform in Vilnius

“This concert was second to none – it was an unforgettable experience created by a musician who is dedicated and inspired to the marrow of his bones.” This is how the publication “Pizzicato” wrote about one of Ilya Gringolts’ concerts. This autumn, Ilya Gringolts (Switzerland), who captivates audiences around the world with his exceptional virtuosity and expressive interpretations, will perform in Vilnius. On October 16, the world-renowned violinist will appear at the National Philharmonic in a concert by the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by maestro Modestas Pitrėnas. In the first part of this concert, the trio “FortVio”, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will also perform with the orchestra: Ingrida Rupaitė (violin), Povilas Jacunskas (cello), Indrė Baikštytė (piano), who will perform the world premiere of a new work by Kristupas Bubnelis.

I. Gringolts performs with the most famous orchestras in the world, such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, the Filarmonica della Scala in Milan, the BBC Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony, the NHK Symphony, the Vienna Symphony, the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the City of Birmingham Symphony, the Oslo Philharmonic, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the São Paulo Symphony, the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, and others. Highlights of the past season include concerts with the Luxembourg Philharmonic, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, and the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. “It is hard to imagine more expressive and uncompromising violin playing,” wrote the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” about the violin virtuoso.

The violinist studied at the famous Juilliard School in New York, where his teacher was the legendary Itzhak Perlman – one of the most famous violinists of our era. In 1998, I. Gringolts won the prestigious Paganini International Violin Competition and remains the youngest winner in the history of this competition to this day. Currently, the performer plays a 1743 Guarneri “del Gesù” violin.

The violinist captivates the world audience with a combination of virtuosity and special interpretations and is constantly looking for new musical challenges. The performer's mastery is admired by many music critics, and the publication “Pizzicato” adds: “Ilya Gringolts’ interpretations testify to his deep involvement in the works and their understanding, as well as his unwavering, confident control of the instrument.” I. Gringolts’ repertoire includes both the great masterpieces of violin classics and less frequently performed opuses and contemporary works. Composers such as Peter Maxwell Davies, Salvatore Sciarrino, Bernhard Lang, Michael Jarrell, Beat Furrer, Christophe Bertrand, Chaya Czernowin, Augusta Read Thomas, Mirela Ivičević, and others have written works specifically for this performer. The violinist also regularly plays music by John Adams, Jörg Widmann, Heinz Holliger, Valentin Silvestrov, Sofia Gubaidulina, Mieczysław Weinberg, and other most famous creators of the 20th and 21st centuries.