FREYLEKH!

Pianist Gintaras Januševičius, creator of original and theatrical concert programs, presents a special, personal program dedicated to the works and destinies of Jewish composers. “Freylekh!” in Yiddish means “joy,” “celebration,” “cheerfulness” – and this very spirit will pulse throughout the evening. The program was inspired by the story of the pianist’s grandmother, a woman of Jewish descent who lived in Novosibirsk, Tashkent, and Haifa.

It is a musical reflection of her strength, light, humor, and ability to remain human even in the most difficult moments. At the center of the evening are composers of Jewish origin, whose music and lives are marked by great creative freedom and the imprint of historical upheavals.

And the “highlight” of the evening – Earl Wild’s seven études on Gershwin themes (performed together for the first time in Lithuania), Schulhoff’s “Suite of Jazz Dances,” Ullmann’s Seventh Sonata, written shortly before his death in a concentration camp, and Horowitz’s arrangement of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” – a reflection of the celebration preserved by the human spirit even in the face of tragedy.