Musical Puzzle. What is a musician?
KKS presents an unconventional music route for restless teenagers, with KKO performers aiming to engage them in the world of classical music.
2025 May 05
19:30
2 h (with break)
Klaipėda State Musical Theatre, Sea Hall
Chief Conductor Tomas Ambrozaitis
David Geringas (cello, Lithuania, Germany), Jens Peter Maintz (cello, Germany), Jing Zhao (cello, China, Germany), Kornelija Kupšytė (cello)
Ottorino Respighi, Eugen d’Albert, Anatolijus Šenderovas, Camille Saint–Saëns, David Popper
Magic always happens when maestro David Geringas and his students meet on stage. An anthem for music will be played during the spectacular opening concert of the International Klaipėda Cello Festival, when dialogues between the teacher and his students will merge into one. Jens Peter Maintz, an outstanding cello virtuoso, Jing Zhao, a Chinese artist of exceptional talent, and Kornelija Kupšytė, one of the brightest cello players in Klaipėda, will embark on a musical exploration with the maestro.
Is it possible to outperform a genius and become better than the teacher? We will seek the answer to this eternal question in this unique musical dialogue.
The opening concert of the International Klaipėda Cello Festival is centred on the Teacher and his students. According to Mindaugas Bačkus, the artistic director of the festival, ‘in the world of music, it is very important to have a teacher, not only an authority, but also a person who helps you to follow the path of creativity, who inspires you to improve, to keep going’.
Tonight’s Teacher is one of the world’s foremost cello pedagogues, David Geringas. In this concert, he will share the stage with his former students: Jens Peter Maintz, one of the most prominent cello virtuosos and teachers in Europe; Jing Zhao, an exceptionally talented cello virtuoso of Chinese origin, and Kornelija Kupšytė, the most outstanding cellist of the younger generation of Klaipėda cellists. Kornelija Kupšytė has had the opportunity to take part in Professor David Geringas’ lessons since she was a child. She will perform a work that has given a special impetus to her professional development: Ottorino Respighi’s Adagio con variazioni.
The programme features opuses by two composers whose anniversaries are celebrated in 2025. One of them is Anatolijus Šenderovas’s Con amore – Adagio from the ballet Desdemona, which will be performed by maestro David Geringas. In 2025, the composer Anatolijus Šenderovas would have turned 80. The other piece is The Muse and the Poet, a piece for violin, cello and orchestra by Camille Saint-Saëns. 2025 marks the 190th anniversary of the composer’s birth. The programme will conclude with the moving Requiem for three cellos and orchestra by the renowned Czech cellist and composer David Popper.
The programme will be performed under the baton of two conductors: Professor David Geringas and the orchestra’s chief conductor Tomas Ambrozaitis.
*The ticket price includes a 1.40 EUR service fee from the Kakava.lt system. This fee is not subject to any discounts.
The event may be photographed and filmed. Photos and videos will be used on Klaipėda Concert Hall’s social media pages and other communication channels. By attending the event, you confirm that you are aware of and agree to the use of non-identifying video material for the promotion of the event. If you wish to have any photo featuring your image removed, please contact gidone.vaitkuviene@koncertusale.lt or +370 650 17 988.