Prof. David Geringas

Lithuanian cellist and conductor David Geringas is one of today's musical elite. His unusually broad repertoire, from early Baroque to contemporary art, testifies to the artist's flexibility and curiosity. His intellectual rigor, stylistic versatility, melodic sense and tonal sensitivity have earned him acclaim around the world. A student of Rostropovich and winner of the 1970 Tchaikovsky Competition Gold Medal, David Geringas can now look back on a career spanning decades. He has performed all over the world with some of the most prominent orchestras and important conductors of our time.

His discography, which is now approaching 100 CDs, includes many that have been awarded major prizes, including the Grand Prix du Disque for his recording of 12 Luigi Boccherini cello concertos, and the Diapason d'Or d'Année for his chamber music. Henri Dutilleux and Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Prize of the Year for his recording of Hans Pfitzner's cello concertos, as well as for his recording of Alfred Schnittke's works for cello and piano. David Geringas was awarded the Echo Klassik in 2013 and 2014. In 2013 he received the award for the best recording of chamber music of the 20th and 21st centuries (Braunfels/Strauss, Profil Edition Günter Hänssler) and in 2014 for the best recording of chamber music of the 19th century (Pohádka, C2 Hamburg/ES DUR).

His career as an artist is marked by the constant release of exceptional CDs. Between 2008 and 2011, eight new CDs were released. These include two world premieres (David's Song and Discorsi, Profil Edition Günter Hänssler), works for piano and cello by Sergei Rachmaninoff (Hänssler Classics), Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (Profil Edition Günter Hänssler) and Frederic Chopin (Sony Music Entertainment), as well as works for Cello and Piano by Ludwig van Beethoven (Hänssler Classic) with pianist Ian Fountain - a GRAMOPHONE "Editor's Choice" recording. The CD of the cycle "Bach Plus", which contains all six of Bach's cello suites, presented in fragments by various contemporary composers, was released in October 2011, which was welcomed by critics.

Well-known contemporary composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Ned Rorem, Peter Vasks and Erkki-Sven Tüür have dedicated cello concertos to him. He has premiered many Russian and Lithuanian avant-garde works in the West. In 2002 he gave the world premiere of Anatoly Senderov's Concerto in D major, dedicated to him, and won the European Composers' Prize in Berlin. In 2012, David Geringas performed three world premieres - Arvydas Malcys' Concerto "In Memoriam" in Kaunas, Silvija Colasanti's Cello Concerto in Milan and Aleksandr Raskatov's Cello Concerto in Amsterdam.

As a conductor, David Geringas regularly appears in Germany and abroad, often performing the dual role of cellist and conductor. In addition to invitations from the citadels of Western and Eastern European music centers (Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Auditorium Parco della musica Roma, Wiener Musikverein, Tonhalle Zürich, Berliner Philharmonie), he has received invitations from Asia and the USA, among others. From 2005 to 2008 he was the Chief Guest Conductor of the Kyushu Philharmonic Orchestra, and in 2007 he made his debut with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and the China Philharmonic Orchestra. In February 2009 he made his conducting debut with the Moscow Philharmonic in Moscow, and in 2015 – with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra in St. Petersburg. His opera conducting debut took place in 2010 with Tchaikovsky's "Eugene Onegin" in Klaipėda. In 2015 David Geringas successfully debuted as the musical director and conductor of Eduards Balsys' ballet "Eglė Queen of Serpents" in Vilnius.

For decades, David Geringas led a world-famous cello class that produced such cello stars as Gustav Rivinius, Jens Peter Maintz, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Monika Leskovar, Tatjana Vassiljeva, Jing Zhao, Johannes Moser, Maximilian Hornung and Sol Gabetta. For his advocacy of Lithuanian music and composers, David Geringas has received the highest awards of his homeland. He was awarded the German Verdienstkreuz 1. Klasse for his services as a musician and ambassador of the country's culture on the international music scene.

David Geringas is an honorary professor at the Moscow Conservatory, the St. Petersburg Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatory and the Beijing Central Conservatory, and has also received an honorary doctorate from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. In the winter semester of 2014–2015, David Geringas was a visiting professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and the Manhattan School of Music in New York. In 2016, on the occasion of his 70th birthday, David Geringas celebrated his jubilee year with concerts in Siena, at the Rheingau Festival, and at the Enescu Festival.